Santa Rosa man charged in deadly confrontation at Healdsburg Hotel testifies

On the day of a fatal altercation last year at a Healdsburg hotel, a Santa Rosa man said he was trying to protect his colleagues and never intended to hurt anyone.

Romario Cisneros testified Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court, where he is charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the July 3, 2023, confrontation that resulted in the death of Santa Rosa resident Abel Garza.

No one disputes that Cisneros killed Garza; The arguments instead focus on whether or not his actions were justified.

Testimony in Cisneros' trial began Oct. 16 before a jury of 10 women and five men, including alternates. The prosecution concluded its argument Wednesday, and then Cisneros took the witness stand to defend himself.

Assisted by an interpreter, he testified that the events unfolded quickly and that he did not know he had fatally stabbed Garza until investigators showed him surveillance footage.

“I never meant to hurt him in any way and I didn't mean to harm him,” Cisneros said in court. “I didn’t want to be here.”

He was originally charged with assault and involuntary manslaughter, but the latter was dismissed on October 15, just before jury selection began.

“There is no significant change in what we expect based on the evidence in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Brian Staebell told The Press Democrat last week. “This decision was simply a trial strategy to focus the prosecution on what we believe reflects the most accurate picture of what happened.”

Cisneros faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. According to prosecutors, the involuntary manslaughter charge would carry a maximum sentence of about five years.

Autopsy results revealed Garza was under the influence of alcohol, fentanyl and methamphetamine when he showed up at the hotel twice on July 3, 2023, each time threatening staff.

During the first confrontation, officials said, Garza head-butted an employee and attempted to hit him and Cisneros with a skateboard.

Healdsburg police were notified but said they were unable to locate Garza.

When he returned, he was holding a pole and a hammer and yelling at hotel staff for calling the police, officials said.

Sonoma County Assistant District Attorney Robert Waner interviewed workers who were present during the confrontation, and several said they were afraid of Garza.

“The way he was was bad. I don’t know the word, but it wasn’t right,” Maria Paredesaime, a hotel worker, testified through an interpreter on Tuesday.

Officials said Garza hit an employee with the pole before the employees grabbed the pole away from him.

Waner presented surveillance footage of employees following Garza through an alley across from the hotel and next to The Wurst restaurant.

Garza threw rocks and the hammer at them, and Logan Brendel, a chef at the PizZando restaurant next to the hotel, testified Tuesday that the tool landed at his feet.

He said he wrapped it with a towel before yelling at everyone to stop arguing.

Waner played the surveillance footage and Brendel said he couldn't remember all the events he just saw.

“It’s crazy for me to see this,” he said in court. “…that’s really (expletive) crazy to me.”

The prosecution's argument appears to center on Cisneros taking direct action while other witnesses kept their distance or were unarmed.

A maintenance supervisor used a folding knife to fend off Garza. He put it away and the two began arguing, officials said.

Cisneros then attacked with the rod, piercing both Garza's lung and aorta.

Cisneros testified Wednesday that he didn't remember aiming the pole at Garza and that he didn't know he was injured.

“The only thing I wanted to do was stop him so he could calm down,” Cisneros testified.

Kimi Vehilac, a pathologist who performed Garza's autopsy, testified Tuesday that the rod caused severe injuries and that damage to the aorta “caused massive internal bleeding.”

She confirmed that meth, fentanyl and alcohol were found in Garza's body, but none of these contributed to his death.

“The stab wound was much more serious,” she said.

On August 8, police arrested Cisneros following an investigation. He was taken to jail but was later released after posting $30,000 bail.

Garza's family filed a civil lawsuit alleging that the hotel was negligent in his death. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 27.

Reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at [email protected]. On Twitter @colin_atagi