STOCKTON — Gang enhancement charges against one man arrested after an October shooting at a Tracy restaurant were dropped this afternoon as attorneys of the other two men prepare for arraignment in April.

Michael Mau, Elvis Mendoza and Johnny Martinez appeared in court today for the final preliminary hearing regarding an Oct. 10 shooting at Amore’s Italian Restaurant, where Naim Bey, 41, was killed and six other people were injured.

Mark Thiel, representing Mendoza, 29, convinced San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge George J. Abdallah Jr. that there wasn’t enough evidence for prosecutors to follow through on charges of being an accessory after the fact, as well as street terrorism and committing a crime for the benefit of a street gang.

Mau, 24, will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. April 12 in Stockton on one charge of homicide, seven counts of attempted homicide and other enhancements stemming from the shooting.

Martinez, 25, faces a charge of being an accessory after the fact, street terrorism and committing a crime for the benefit of a street gang. Both men are suspected South Side Tracy/Norteño gang members — something Tracy police Detective Michael Richards confirmed in his testimony today. He said that both men are known gang members based on their tattoos, association with other gang members and criminal history.

Richards said that Mau has “South” and “Side” tattoos on his arms, which Mau once claimed stood for “South San Joaquin Delta College.”

After prosecutor Tori Verber questioned Richards about Mendoza’s run-ins with the law, Thiel pointed out that his client has no documented gang activity since he turned 18.

“That’s correct,” said Richards, who has been an officer with Tracy for nine years, the last two of which were on the gang unit.

Mendoza was implicated in the case because he allegedly received a phone call from Martinez, asking for help to get rid of the gun used in the shooting. Thiel said after the hearing, Mendoza was with his girlfriend’s father in the hospital that night and was not connected to the incident at all.

Attorneys pointed out that on the night of the shooting, none of the men were wearing gang colors or flashing gang signs. Amore’s bartender, Daniel Hernandez, who said he was a close friend of Bey, also said that he didn’t hear any gang slogans shouted prior to or during the altercation.

Richards also agreed with Thiel, saying that there is no documentation of Mendoza associating with Mau in gang activity. No guns were found near Mendoza’s home after the shooting, Thiel said.

Richards agreed that the last time Mendoza’s gang-related tattoos were recorded, he was 18. Richards said he “didn’t know” of any other tattoos since then.

Richards said that Mendoza has “Norte” tattooed on his stomach, and “Tracy” on his back, among other marks. Though Richards agreed that Mendoza has a long history of associating with South Side Tracy gang members when Mendoza was booked into San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp after this incident, he classified himself as an inactive member of the Norteño street gang.

Thiel said Mendoza has been arrested once on gang-related charges, but since he was 17 at the time, he was unable to elaborate. Thiel explained to Abdallah that there is no evidence of Mendoza being involved in gang activity. After the hearing, which lasted most of the day, Thiel said Mendoza has tried to get away from gang ties and improve his life.

Thiel said that while the charges have been dropped, prosecutors might re-file.

“We’ll see,” Thiel said. “He had no involvement. … He hasn’t gone back to that life.

“Of course, we feel remorseful for the victims and certainly Mr. Bey’s family.”

Prior to Richards’ testimony as an expert witness, Hernandez finished his testimony and attorneys questioned Bennet Omalu, the chief forensic pathologist at the San Joaquin County Coroner’s Office.

Hernandez, who wore a black sweater vest and walked on crutches, said that after he asked Mau, Martinez and mutual friend and alleged Norteño Mark Garcia to leave the bar, they exited through the west side door. Garcia, 24, is also a police informant who testified last month.

Before leaving, Hernandez said, Mau threw a punch at a tall man with a pony tail, who was on the stairs. Hernandez was unsure if Mau landed the blow.

Mau then waved with his hand toward the door, motioning for his friends to go outside. After Hernandez made sure the door was closed and locked, he turned back toward the bar.

“Right when I turned the corner, that’s when the shots came in,” he said.

Hernandez estimated that about five rapid shots were fired. After the shots, he ran to a phone to dial 9-1-1. Hernandez told Martinez’s attorney, Victoria Bossi, that at the time of the incident, he didn’t know who fired the shot. Hernandez said he did not know Mau that night, and described him to police as a white man in a dress shirt.

After Hernandez was called off the stand at 11:15 a.m., Omalu was called up. He was shown images from Bey’s autopsy, of his head from the front and from the left. Omalu said that a bullet went through Bey’s left temple, went through his cranial cavity and was lodged in the flat part of the right occipital bone, on the lower back part of his skull.

The gunshot caused “extensive” fractures and brain hemorrhages, Omalu said.

After the hearing, Mau tried to talk to Mendoza, who stood outside the courtroom in a blue dress shirt, a black-and-blue patterned tie and dark slacks.

“Tell her I love her, no matter what,” Mau shouted at Mendoza before he was led away by bailiffs.

• Contact a Tracy Press reporter at 835-3030 or tpnews@tracypress.com.