LAKEPORT — A judge Monday delayed the start of the murder trial of a Kelseyville man accused of causing a September 2009 fatal car crash because the defendant”s lawyer has another homicide case set to begin jury selection next week.
Alejandro A. Arias, 30, faces four felonies, including second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter, for allegedly speeding through a highway red light and hitting another car, killing its driver, in Lakeport more than two years ago.
Arias, who remains in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
His trial was supposed to start at the end of January but defense counsel Doug Rhoades asked the court for a continuance Monday because of a conflict with another case, according to court records.
Rhoades represents one of the two men charged with murder and a host of other felonies in connection with a June shooting in Clearlake that led to a toddler”s death. That trial is set to begin Thursday, and the Lake County District Attorney estimated it could last longer than two months.
Judge Arthur H. Mann found good cause to continue the Arias case several months to accommodate Rhoades, according to court records.
Arias” jury trial has been pushed out to April 18, according to court records.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
