(The following story by Luke Giann appeared on the Daily Democrat website on November 3.)
WOODLAND, Calif. — The five suspected gang members accused of assaulting an Amtrak conductor in West Sacramento in April were brought into court Friday morning and ushered right back out as their scheduled trial setting conference was continued.
The five defendants were indicted by a grand jury for allegedly stopping an Amtrak passenger train as it moved through West Sacramento on its way to Sacramento in April.
Two of the defendants are minors, but are being tried as adults due to the severity of the crime.
According to the indictment, one of the defendants positioned himself on the tracks causing the conductor to stop the train on April 16.
The train’s engineer exited the train to investigate and was attacked by the defendants who struck his head with rocks, bottles and a fire extinguisher, according to the indictment.
The engineer suffered severe head and internal injuries.
The train’s conductor, who came to the engineer’s aid, was also assaulted and injured.
The defendants face several enhancements stemming from their alleged involvement with the Broderick Boys street gang.
The trial setting conference was continued to 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 13 in they Yolo County Superior Court.