LAKE COUNTY ? Jury selection began Wednesday for the first-degree murder trial of former Lower Lake resident James Wade Roberts, 46. Roberts pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in March 2007 and is being held at the Lake County Jail on $1 million bail.
Roberts is accused of murdering his former roommate Ruth Donaldson, who shared a Mullen Avenue house with Roberts, his mother Jill Mancuso and at least two other people at the time of her Oct. 15, 2006 death. Officers of the Clearlake Police Department responded at 12:14 p.m. and got a statement from Roberts” mother that Roberts had admitted to the murder and asked her for a sleeping bag to dispose of Donaldson”s body, according to a statement by CPD police officer Brett Rhodes during Roberts” Feb. 16, 2007 preliminary hearing.
“We”re in the middle of jury selection, and it”s not an appropriate time to discuss the case. Potential jurors are told not to read newspaper accounts, but it is not appropriate for attorneys to comment on future evidence while jury selection is taking place, or about how the trial may go,” defense attorney Stephen Carter said Thursday.
Hopkins said a motion concerning “security issues” took all of Wednesday morning to resolve. Two panels of potential jurors were then whittled down to a room full after several were excused for hardships, according to Hopkins. The combined panel was questioned collectively by presiding Lake County Superior Court Judge Richard Martin. Jury selection will continue on Wednesday. Hopkins said he expects that he and Carter will make opening statements Thursday morning.
Carter said four doctors were appointed by the court to examine Roberts.
Hopkins said the determination about Roberts” sanity will be made by the same jury that will decide whether he is guilty or not guilty of the murder. Enhancements attached to the murder charge allege that Roberts had prior convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in Butte and Sonoma counties.
Carter declared a doubt about Roberts” competency in August 2007; the court found Roberts competent to stand trial in December 2007, according to court records.
Donaldson was found sitting on the floor, leaning against the foot of a bed with a rope around her neck, according to CPD officers” statements.
An autopsy performed three days later found that Donaldson died of strangulation and a stab wound to her left breast that punctured her heart and lung, according to a statement by CPD Sgt. Mike Hermann at Roberts” preliminary hearing.
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