By Christian Kallen
A violent morning drama unfolded on the streets of Healdsburg the day before Independence Day 2023. It resulted in the death of Abel Garza, a 41-year-old resident of Santa Rosa. Last week, more than a year after the incident, the criminal case against his accused killer, Romario Cisneros, was dismissed by the Sonoma County District Attorney.
The dismissal followed a week-long trial that resulted in a hung jury, with 11 of the jurors voting for a not-guilty verdict. Only one held out for a conviction.
The morning, July 3, began as two Hotel Healdsburg workers challenged Garza, who was near the swimming pool, for not being a guest. In response, Garza reportedly threw toilet paper in the pool, struck a bellhop and took a hotel worker’s tools, reportedly a nail gun or something similar, and temporarily left the scene.
Witnesses said that Garza, shirtless, was carrying a skateboard. As it later turned out, he was also under the influence of alcohol, fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the results of a post-mortem.
Less than an hour later, at 10:20am, Garza returned to the area to resume his physical confrontation with hotel grounds staff, now including maintenance manager Daniel Guzman outside the hotel. He was carrying a hammer and what was described as “an unknown metal object” that some reports characterized as a gardening stake.
During the fight, Garza was disarmed by Guzman and Cisneros, then the accused stabbed him over 10 inches deep with the gardening stake, inflicting fatal injuries. Garza died at the scene, bleeding out in front of what is now the El Milagro restaurant.
Whatever the fatal strike’s cause, the Healdsburg Police Department investigation concluded that Cisneros committed a crime, and it was “submitted to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office for consideration of charges,” a Healdsburg Police statement read at the time.
“Cisneros was involved in the altercation with Garza immediately preceding his death, and the investigation revealed that Cisneros’s actions exceeded self-defense when he struck Garza with a metal object,” Healdsburg police reported on their Facebook page.
Romario M. Cisneros, 34, of Santa Rosa, was arrested on a charge of involuntary manslaughter on Aug. 9, 2023. He went to trial on a single felony count of assault with a deadly weapon on Oct. 16 of this year, after an additional count of involuntary manslaughter was dismissed shortly before his trial began.
After a brief trial, in which six witnesses, including Cisneros himself, were called in Cisneros’ defense, the trial went into deliberation on Oct. 25. Four days later 11 jurors favored a not-guilty verdict, with only one holding out for a guilty verdict. Judge Laura Passaglia declared it a hung jury, and the county DA’s office, weighing the expense and resources of holding another trial that could well result in an acquittal, dropped the charges.
Saying that Cisernos was thankful he received a fair trial, defense lawyer Charles Dresow stated, “We are very happy with the result, being the jury agreed largely that this was a clear case of self-defense and defense of others.” Dresow is an attorney with Ragghianti Freitas of San Rafael, not a public defender.
The criminal case is settled, however a civil case is still active. Since Cisneros was employed by the hotel as a general maintenance worker at the time of the incident, he and the hotel’s owner, Piazza Hotel Management, are named in a Personal Injury/Property Damage/Wrongful Death civil lawsuit alleging general negligence and negligent hiring supervision.
That case was filed March 7 in Sonoma County Superior Court by Garza’s sister, Davina, on behalf of his children. The next hearing in that case is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2025, Judge Bradford DeMeo to preside.
