LAKEPORT — Testimony for the prosecution continued Wednesday in the murder trial of Shannon Lee Edmonds, 35, and co-defendant Melvin Dale Norton, 38. The Clearlake men pleaded not guilty by means of self-defense to murder charges related to the Sept. 22, 2009 death of Shelby Ryan Uehling, 25, of Bozeman, MT.
Both men face charges of murder, assault with a knife, assault with a club and assault likely to cause great bodily injury. Norton faces an additional charge of accessory after the fact while charges against Edmonds are accompanied by special allegations because great bodily injury was allegedly inflicted.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years to life without the possibility of parole.
Wednesday”s testimony in the court of Honorable Judge Arthur H. Mann, saw more law enforcers of the Clearlake Police Department (CPD) take the stand as well as one from Vallejo Police Department assigned to the Northern California Computer Crimes Task Force (CCTF), which also provides analysis of cell phone devices.
Defense”s cross examination of CPD Detective Martin Snyder began the day”s session. Public Defender Stephen Carter, who represents Norton, questioned Snyder further about numerous unlabeled pills collected from Uehling”s vehicle.
“Anytime I find any kind of narcotic, I collect it as evidence, hence the pills,” Det. Snyder said, adding that there was probably four or five different-type pills in the bag he previously testified about. “From my general viewing of the pills they looked like over-the-counter. I did not take a Physician”s Desk Reference (PDR) or call Poison Control to ID each individual pill,” he said.
Additionally Det. Snyder said that he would have investigated the pills further had he been charging a subject with a crime.
Det. Richard Martin Strang of the Northern California CCTF, who was a sergeant at the time of the incident, provided testimony related to information retrieved from Uehling”s cell phone as well as one associated with Edmonds recovered by warrant from his daughter in January. The testimony Det. Strang provided related to call logs, contact lists and text messages sent and received between the phones as well as other calls made to the residence of Linda Dale. Contact between Uehling”s phone and one associated with Patricia Campbell was also identified.
The defense voiced objections to taking information within messages allegedly sent between Uehling, Edmonds and Campbell on the grounds of hearsay as Det. Strang testified that forensic capabilities do not allow for identification of who actually used a specific phone at any specific time. The objection was over ruled.
Vicki Estrella, who serves as the support service technician for the CPD in charge of the evidence room, provided testimony related to measurements taken at the crime scene. She said she assisted in documenting the crime scene and collecting evidence. Carter asked if she personally searched the area of the crime scene. She said no and that she had only searched about a two-foot area around the tree where Uehling”s body was found.
Gene Thompson, a volunteer with CPD”s Volunteers In Policing program also testified. Thompson explained his 37-years experience with technical illustration, which he said was the type of assistance he provided in the Sept. 22 incident. Some of his testimony included locations of what appeared to be blood spatters. One spatter reached as high as 90 inches (about 8-feet) from the pavement into the tree where Uehling was found.
Supervisor of the CPD”s Crime Suppression Unit, Sgt. Tim Celli”s testimony concluded the day. His testimony included that pertaining to procedures in securing and searching the residences of Edmonds and Norton as well as items seized in the search of Edmonds”s motor home. One piece of evidence seized from Edmond”s home was an envelope with a description of Uehling”s red Honda Civic and a license plate number. The envelope had other writing on it as well and when asked by the defense if he could tell when the information was written on the paper, he said no. He also said he could not tell who wrote it.
Edmonds” public defender Doug Rhoades” questions of Sgt. Celli included those pertaining to the statement he took from previous witness, Pat Hand. Rhoades asked if Hand had difficulty in providing a statement. “None that I specifically noticed,” Sgt. Celli said. “He couldn”t provide specific details of the conversation he overheard, but in general he was able to provide a statement about his specific involvement.”
Witness testimony will continue at 9 a.m. today in Lake County Superior Court Department 3 in Lakeport.
Contact South County reporter Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
