Man suspected in death of half-brother to appear in court

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday for a man accused of fatally bludgeoning his half-brother in a Mountain View alley last summer.

Jose Hernan Meza, 35, was already in custody on an unrelated charge when he was re-arrested last July 17 on suspicion of murder in the death of 25-year-old Jorge Jimenez, according to San Diego police.

Officers found Jimenez lying on an access road off the 3700 block of Hemlock Street about 11:15 p.m. July 7. Paramedics took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from blunt-force trauma two days later, SDPD Lt. Mike Hastings said.

Police alleged that on the day Jimenez was mortally injured, he got into a fight with Meza. The reason for the fight was unclear.

Meza has been in custody since July 8, when he was arrested for an alleged parole violation.

Judge Peter Deddeh will decide at the end of the preliminary hearing whether there is enough evidence to warrant ordering the defendant to stand trial.