Kumra Murder: Dixon Has New Attorney, Brother, Sister Join 2 Other Defendants

The five defendants in the Monte Sereno murder case of former Saratoga Mountain Winery owner Raveesh "Ravi" Kumra appeared in Santa Clara County Superior Court Tuesday morning for a pre-trial hearing during which a judge learned that more than 500 pages of documents have been turned over to attorneys for discovery, and one of the suspects now has a new lawyer.

Judge Deborah A. Ryan, filling in for Judge Sharon A. Chatman, asked the parties to return to court at 9 a.m. April 16 in Department 39 for another such hearing, described by Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Kevin Smith as a status conference.

More than 500 pages of discovery have been turned over by the prosecution to defense attorneys representing Deangelo Austin and Javier Garcia, both 21; Lukis Anderson, 26; Raven Chanel Dixon, 22; and Katrina Fritz, 32.

Smith maintains the

The men each face six felony counts of murder, assault, criminal threats, false imprisonment, robbery and residential burglary. Dixon has been charged as an accessory to murder and Fritz has been charged with murder in the commission of a robbery and home invasion robbery. Gang enhancements have been added to four of the five defendants, except Anderson, Smith said.

None of the defendants have entered pleas yet. Only Dixon pleaded not guilty on Feb. 14.

The discovery documents could end up being thousands of pages as they include witness interviews, photographs, crime scene investigation and police reports, among others, attorneys said.

Appearing for the first time together, but sitting in different rows in Department 49 on the east wing of the San Jose Hall of Justice, were brother and sister Deangelo Austin and Katrina Fritz.

Also new in the case is the substitution of counsel, or legal representation, for Dixon, whose new attorney is Andrew Dosa, replacing previous attorneys John Ambrosio and Denise Zingale.

"I'm finally getting discovery to see what the District Attorney is saying is connecting my client to this case," Dosa said. "We don't believe she should be involved. She had nothing to do with the defendants before or after."

Dosa said that contrary to police investigators' reports that say Dixon knew Fritz and the three men involved in the case, and was an accessory to the murder, his client was not involved.

"If I know somebody and they commit a crime, am I guilty? She didn't do anything to help any of them," he said. "Her knowing them doesn't connect them to their behavior. She's done nothing to support any of them."

Smith presented to the judge a notice of the search warrant used to track Fritz' vehicle, as police were investigating her activities before her arrest in connection to the case.

"As my paralegal gets it finished [discovery documents] and redacted I'll turn it over to the defense attorneys," Smith said after the hearing.

Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police detectives, aided by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, are continuing to investigate the case, with the possibility that more defendants could be added in the future, Smith said.

Appearing on behalf of Anderson, Austin, Garcia and Fritz were attorneys Kelley Kulick, Melissa Adams, Chris Givens and Ken Mandel, respectively.

"All five defendants have been joined," explained Kulick. "I plan on doing an independent fact investigation about what happened and nothing is taken at face value."

Kulick also said her client is not a gang member, lived in San Jose and has a mental health history. She also said he had a criminal record, but "nothing that would rise to this level."

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