John Lindblom – Record-Bee staff
LAKEPORT ? The defense counsel for Renato Hughes Jr., who will stand trial for murder in the deaths of two of his companions during the attempted robbery of a Clearlake Park man, on Monday filed a motion asking for analyses of forensic tests being conducted by the prosecution.
Stuart Hanlon, a San Francisco attorney who recently took over Hughes? defense, also apparently filed a motion in Lake County Superior Court asking for county financial assistance in defending his client, Lake County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jon Hopkins said.
?We filed a discovery motion, because we don?t have any of the tests,? said Hanlon.
Hopkins said he received the discovery motion, which is a demand of sorts for evidence being developed by the prosecution, but said, ?It was for items that haven?t been finished yet, the scientific analysis. He?s eager to get his hands on those, but so am I.
?When I responded informally to let him know what I?m doing on that we agreed to put it over until June 12.?
The test results are crucial to both sides in the case in which Hughes is being charged with murder by accomplice under a section of the criminal code stating that the perpetrator of a felony can be held responsible for deaths if the felony is likely to provoke lethal resistance. In this case, Rashad Williams and Christian Foster, Hughes? companions in an attempt to steal marijuana on Dec. 7, were actually shot by Shannon Edmonds after the three men invaded his home.
?If the evidence is beneficial to our case, of course he (Hanlon) is going to want to decide whether he?s going to hire experts,? Hopkins said.
But he said he has none of the tests back from state laboratories. He added that he has an appointment later this week to visit the Sacramento laboratory where the tests are being conducted.
?We?ll see what we can do to keep it moving along,? said the county?s lead prosecutor. ?I did that once before and we got some great results. But the problem is there?s a higher level of review for everything they do, so they can finish testing but they have to wait. I need to find out whose desk it?s sitting on.?
Hopkins said that on Monday Hanlon mentioned a motion he had submitted ?that sounds like he?s agreed to come into the case, but they don?t have the money to present a defense.? The motion will be ruled on exclusively by trial judge Arthur H. Mann. If granted, it would enable Hanlon to use county funds to help fund Hughes? defense, including the hiring of DNA experts and others to review the evidence collected by the prosecution.
?There have been times in the past where it?s happened,? Hopkins said. ?It?s nothing I can weigh in on; it all takes place in secrecy.?
September is being looked at by both sides as a likely time for beginning the trial. But continued delays in obtaining tests results could push the start clear into next year. ?Realistically, it could,? Hopkins said.
?It depends on what happens between now and June 12. It really makes sense in a case like this for everybody to know what the forensic results are and the scientific analysis before a trial date is set.?
Contact John Lindblom at jlindblom@mchsi.com
