SANTA CRUZ — A jury will hear opening statements Monday related to a November 2022 stabbing that left Neoklis “Nick the Greek” Koumides, 36, dead in a downtown parking garage.
Koumides, who was living unsheltered at the time of his death, was found dead inside the Cedar and Chestnut streets parking garage shortly after 5 a.m. on Nov. 22. Within fewer than 24 hours, the Santa Cruz Police Department had arrested downtown resident John Frederick Burke, 65, at his home.
Due to a 1994 Orange County conviction for attempted murder, Burke would face a second felony “strike” if he were to be convicted in the latest case. Buke also has been charged with a criminal enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. Trial proceedings in the case began Jan. 29.
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Burke’s murder trial is set to kick off even as a second Santa Cruz murder trial draws to a close. After nearly a month of jury proceedings, closing arguments in the trial of Jason Cortez are expected this week, according to attorneys in the case. Cortez is the second of two men charged with the Santa Cruz County Jailhouse death of fellow inmate German Carrillo, 24. A jury in November found former co-defendant Mario Lozano guilty of murder in the case, along with a separate, earlier murder. Lozano ultimately was sentenced to back-to-back life sentences without parole.