By Brian Anderson
Contra Costa Newspapers

March 19, 2002

OAKLAND —A n Alameda County judge barred attorneys on Monday from discussing the case of three men accused of killing a sheriff’s deputy at a Dublin restaurant more than three years ago.

Judge Alfred Delucchi issued the gag order during hearings to determine whether to grant or deny about a dozen defense motions ranging from a request to change the trial venue to a motion to suppress taped statements.

The decision to prohibit lawyers from talking about the case of slain Alameda County Sheriff’s Deputy John Paul Monego comes after a number of stories that focused attention on the case ran in area newspapers.

Monego, 33, was gunned down Dec. 12, 1998 outside the Outback Steakhouse on Regional Street. Miguel Galindo Sifuentes, 22, Hai Minh Le, 23, and Reuben Eliceo Vasquez, 26, were arrested a short time after the shooting and are awaiting trial on a murder charge with a special circumstance that makes them eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

Last year, Alameda County Judge Larry Goodman issued a similar gag order on attorneys and others involved in the trial of James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud. That case is currently before a jury.

The Monego trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in August.