LAKE COUNTY – After his appeal for a change of venue was denied by the California Supreme Court, Renato Hughes” trial was set Thursday for October 23.
Hughes is accused of the shooting deaths of his two companions, Christian Foster, 22, of San Francisco, and Rashad Williams, 21, of Pittsburg in an alleged robbery gone bad at the Clearlake Park home of Shannon Edmonds on Dec. 2, 2005.
Although Hughes did not wield the Browning automatic pistol that killed his companions, he is being held for their deaths under a clause in the law that holds co-perpetrators of a felonious act responsible if the act is likely to provoke lethal resistance.
A date for the hearing of pretrial motions is set for October 11 at 9 a.m. in Dept. 3.
Defense attorney Stuart Hanlon said Monday that among the motions to be considered is a motion to exclude from evidence a shotgun found six weeks after the incident by a civilian after the area was searched using police dogs. Hanlon said although the weapon underwent a battery of lab testing for fingerprints, DNA and blood samples, “there is no physical evidence to connect it to this case.”
Another motion involves evidence that Shannon Edmonds, who did pull the trigger during the alleged home invasion, kept marijuana in large quantities on his property and was a drug dealer. Edmonds carries a medical marijuana identification card.
Jury selection will begin October 23 at 8:15 a.m. and is tentatively slated to take place in Dept. 1. District Attorney Jon Hopkins said that may change to Dept. 3.
Another pretrial motion involves the ability to question prospective jurors privately about issues concerning race and the publicity of the trial.
In addition, said Hanlon, “We may be renewing our motion for change of venue, but we have to see.”
“We”re going to do some more surveys in the area to see whether the publicity around the Supreme Court staying the trial and the way it was portrayed in the media affected people in a way that we think will (affect) a fair trial for Mr. Hughes. Did they reach a conclusion about his guilt? Are they concerned that we”re calling the county racist and therefore the people racist? That could affect his right to a fair trial, and that”s what it”s all about,” said Hanlon, adding that he did not intend to say that Lake County is a racist county.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
