STOCKTON – A judge on Tuesday, Nov. 27, set the murder trial of a 26-year-old man accused of killing a Tracy woman at the Hacienda Inn in July for May 10.

Stephen Andrew Carreiro was indicted in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Oct. 31 on charges of first-degree murder, elder abuse and resisting arrest with enhancements for rape, burglary, sodomy and rape with a foreign object.

He is accused of killing Lalitaben Patel, 62, of Tracy and attacking a second woman on July 7 in the Hacienda Inn at 639 W. 11th St. around 7 p.m.

Judge Bernard Garber on Tuesday set the trial date against the request of Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa, who wanted a trial held within 60 days. Garber said he was granting a motion by Carreiro’s defense attorney, Andrew Quinn, who asked the judge for more time to prepare a defense.

Testa said outside the courtroom that he understood the later date, because the judge had to weigh the defense’s need to be ready.

Quinn, who declined to comment about the case, did say in a telephone interview Tuesday morning that the trial date was “fine” and that he’ll “deal with it.”

During a court hearing on Monday, Nov. 26, Quinn entered a plea of not guilty for Carreiro and denied all enhancements.

Carreiro’s next court dates will be at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28 in Department 23 of the Stockton-branch courthouse for a pre-trial conference and on April 29 for a readiness hearing at 9 a.m.

He is being held at the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp without bail.

Contact Denise Ellen Rizzo at 830-4225 or drizzo@tracypress.com.