The murder trial of Onesimo Olmedo Garcia, slated to start Monday in Napa County Superior Court, was delayed after an attorney for the defendant was forced to bow out of the case. Attorneys and court officials familiar with the case say the trial of Garcia will probably not begin until after the new year.

Garcia is accused of shooting and killing Sandra Isabel Hernandez, also known as Sandra Dodson, last year in the Dry Creek Road residence where Hernandez rented a room.

The two had known each other for years. At the time of the shooting, Garcia was on probation for a domestic violence conviction in which Hernandez was the victim.

Napa County Deputy District Attorney Jose Rossi said Monday that defense attorney Mervin Lernhart told the court he could not proceed with Garcia’s defense after learning the names of three “critical” witnesses the prosecution was preparing to call. Lernhart either represented or had previously represented two of the witnesses, according to Rossi.

An individual’s role as witness in one case and defendant in another can create a conflict of interest for the attorney representing that person against criminal charges.

After Lernhart bowed out, Napa defense attorney Michael Keeley was assigned the case. He, too, had a conflict, and the case was ultimately assigned to Thomas Gill of Vallejo’s Favaro Lavezzo Gill Caretti & Heppell. Napa County Superior Court Judge Stephen Kroyer set a hearing for next week to confirm Gill’s appointment to represent Garcia and to determine a new trial date. Both Rossi and court officials said the case likely would not go to trial until 2007.