LAKEPORT — Brief testimony by three witnesses was heard Wednesday in the murder trial of Shannon Lee Edmonds, 35, and co-defendant Melvin Dale Norton, 38, both of Clearlake. Senior criminologists of the Department of Justice along with a Lake County District Attorney investigator testified.
Edmonds and Norton 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. Leading the morning”s testimony was Senior Criminologist Greg Priebe. Priebe said that several items related to the case were sent to the Santa Rosa Crime Lab for analysis. However, he said due to staffing limitations and extreme case loads it is typical that priorities be established in analyzing those items submitted. He said not all items submitted received analysis.
Of some that were analyzed, Priebe testified that a large amount of blood was noted on a pair of black jeans submitted. Some of that blood, he said was concentrated near the bottom of the right pant leg. He said in some areas the blood soaked through to the inside of the jeans. The jeans are alleged to belong to Edmonds. Priebe also testified that a lesser amount of blood was noted on a pair of light blue jeans, which are alleged to belong to Norton.
With regard to the golf club that is alleged to have been in the possession of Norton, Priebe said the damage was consistent with being run over by an ambulance, as previously testified to by members of law enforcement. He said the tip was not crushed and that it had been analyzed with negative results for human blood.
Senior Criminologist Stephanie Carpenter, of the DOJ lab in Sacramento where DNA testing was performed also testified. She said the blood on the black pants matched the DNA profile of Uehling. She also said that testing done on the double-bladed knife allegedly belonging to Edmonds produced positive presumptive results for blood but she couldn”t get a positive on human blood.
DA Investigator Ed Bean testified to canvassing the area near and around the scene of the crime. He said that although he and DA Investigator Jim Crane did not perform a grid-like search they did perform one in a circular-type pattern. He said no additional weapons were located in the search.
The trial will reconvene at 9 a.m. on Feb. 18 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.
