Judge orders trial for rape, strangling death at Fontana bakery in 2001

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A man linked by DNA to a brutal rape and killing at a Fontana bakery in 2001 must stand trial for the alleged crimes, a judge ruled this afternoon after a full day of testimony at a preliminary hearing.

The judge's ruling means that Gilbert Bernard Sanchez, 47, may be eligible for the death penalty if convicted of murdering 30-year-old Sylvia Galindo, an employee at the bakery where she was killed.

Prosecutors will likely decide whether to pursue the death penalty against Sanchez prior to an arraignment hearing set for Thursday in Fontana Superior Court, said Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Youngberg.

Much of today's testimony in West Valley Superior Court centered on the DNA evidence that linked Sanchez to the then-unsolved killing in 2006.

A sheriff's department criminalist who specializes in DNA testified that the DNA profile in the evidence found on Galindo's body is an exact match to Sanchez.

The criminalist, Susan Anderson, said she would expect to find a match that exact only once in a population of one quintillion Hispanic men.

Galindo was raped and strangled to death the night of Oct. 18, 2001, after closing time at Maria's Panaderia in the 15300 block of Merrill Avenue.

According to the prosecution's theory of the case, Galindo was standing near the back door of the bakery smoking a cigarette when Sanchez assaulted her.

Galindo ran from the back door toward the front area of the business.

There she was attacked and dragged by force to a storage area of the bakery, where she was raped and strangled to death with an electrical cord and wire coat hanger.

The brutal incident remained unsolved until 2006, when the California Department of Justice notified local authorities that DNA recovered from the crime scene matched Sanchez's DNA profile in the FBI database.

At the time of the discovery, Sanchez was serving time in Centinela State Prison in Imperial County for assault with a firearm on a police officer.

In October 2001, Sanchez lived a block away from the bakery and frequented the business, authorities have said.

Following today's testimony, Judge Arthur Harrison held Sanchez to answer on seven of eight felonies filed by prosecutors, as well as numerous allegations of special circumstances that make Sanchez eligible for the death penalty.

Youngberg said after the hearing that she has "no doubt" that Sanchez is the source of the DNA found on Galindo's body.

"Two of those sources were a complete match," Youngberg said.

George Wright, the deputy public defender appointed to represent Sanchez, said he believed the DNA evidence was "not conclusive."

"I don't think it's 100 percent sure that it's his DNA," Wright said.

Wright said he has read about instances in other states where multiple inmates have been exact matches for DNA profiles -- casting doubt on the criminalist's DNA probability statistics.

Wright also said that at 7 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2001 -- less than 12 hours after the killing -- Sanchez was pulled over while driving in Montebello.

The police officers who contacted him did not note Sanchez being bloody, injured or otherwise suspicious, Wright said.

One of the officers involved in the traffic stop testified today that he had no memory of his encounter with Sanchez.

Sanchez's wife, Sandra Sanchez, testified that her husband has never been abusive to her.