LAKEPORT — The second-degree murder trial of Alejandro Aurelio Arias will not start this month because of an attorney scheduling conflict.
The proceedings were set to begin April 18, but Arias” public defender, Doug Rhoades, is in the middle of another homicide trial.
As a result, Judge David W. Herrick canceled the Arias trial date on Monday afternoon at the Lake County Courthouse.
Herrick did not set a new start day and instead ordered Arias to return to court April 30 for a scheduling hearing.
The latest continuance pushes the case closer to the three-year anniversary of the death of Charlane Hill, the 41-year-old woman Arias is charged with killing in a car crash.
Authorities allege Arias sped through a highway red light in Lakeport on Sept. 11, 2009 and hit the car Hill was driving, killing her and injuring her two passengers.
Arias, 30, has denied any wrongdoing, pleading not guilty to the four felonies and denying all special allegations. He remains in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
