LAKEPORT — A judge Monday found good cause to continue the second-degree murder trial of a Kelseyville man accused of causing a fatal car crash in September 2009.
The stated reason for the continuance request was defense counsel”s unavailability for the June 6 trial date, according to prosecutor John Langan.
Judge David W. Herrick rescheduled the trial to begin Oct. 24 — which would be more than a month after the three-year anniversary of the crash.
Alejandro Aurelio Arias, 30, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, pleading not guilty to the four felonies against him.
Authorities allege Arias sped through a red light at the intersection of highways 29 and 175 in Lakeport on Sept. 11, 2009 and crashed into another car, killing its driver. Charlane Hill, 41, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Arias, who remains in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility, is set to appear in court for pretrial proceedings on Aug. 6.
For the record, some of the articles about the case published in the Record-Bee between February and October 2011 listed an incorrect number of occupants in the car Hill drove. According to police reports, there were three occupants: Hill and two passengers. Lake County Publishing regrets the error.
