Accused killer to represent himself in court - ContraCostaTimes.com: "Rodney Colonel Perez, 30, could face the death penalty for allegedly shooting and killing 24-year-old Roberta Romero last year in Pomona.
Prosecutors believe that Romero, of Azusa, was killed on May 11, 2009, because she testified against a high-ranking member of the Azusa 13 street gang who was convicted of four murders and sentenced to death.
Before Judge Tia Fisher relieved Perez's attorney and placed Perez in control of his case, she warned him of the difficulty of representing himself.
'I think that that's a bad choice,' Fisher told Perez in Pomona Superior Court. '... It would certainly be against my advice.'
Perez told Fisher he has no legal training and has never acted as his own attorney in prior criminal cases. He said his highest education level is 11th grade. He also said he completed one semester at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
Perez's former attorney, Antonio Bestard, said after the hearing that Perez was adamant about representing himself.
'He feels he can represent himself better,' Bestard said. 'He said he just wants to do this.'"