RIVERSIDE - Five men pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder charges and hate-crime allegations in connection with the June 5 stabbing death of Jeffery Owens.
A Riverside woman also pleaded not guilty to a charge of being an accessory to murder in the death of the gay activist from Moreno Valley.
All six are scheduled to return to court July 18, when a preliminary hearing date could be set.
The 40-year-old Owens died after he was attacked in the parking lot of The Menagerie bar in downtown Riverside. His friend, Michael Bussee, 48, of Riverside, was beaten and stabbed. Bussee survived the attack.
The Riverside County district attorney's office alleges that Dorian Lee Gutierrez, 18, of Riverside stabbed Owens and Bussee. Gutierrez is charged with murder and attempted murder plus gang and hate-crime allegations.
Riverside police have found a knife that may have been used in the attack.
Four other people are charged with murder plus gang and hate-crime allegations. They are Ramon Meza Rabago, 18, of Highgrove; Miguel Angel Ramos, 28, of Riverside; Viviano Cruz Marin, 25, of Riverside; and David Leal Martinez, 18, of Riverside.
Rabago faces an additional charge of committing a crime while free on bond. According to court records, he entered a neighbor's home last November in Highgrove and threatened to kill the occupants after boasting he was in a gang.
Riverside County court records show Marin as the only defendant with a prison record. He was sentenced in 1996 to a year and four months in prison for two burglaries.
Wendy Christina Plasier, 26, of Riverside is charged with harboring or concealing felons. She worked as a bartender at Sandy's Pub, a bar next to The Menagerie.
Reach Mike Kataoka at (909) 368-9411 or mkataoka@pe.com