LAKEPORT — Prosecution and defense attorneys are set to give their opening statements in the Robby Alan Beasley double-murder trial Wednesday morning.
Beasley, 32, of Clearlake is charged in connection with the 2010 shooting deaths of Maine residents Frank and Yvette Maddox, whose partially decomposed bodies were found at the bottom of a Lower Lake embankment in March 2010.
Beasley, formerly of Maine, pleaded not guilty to the pair of murder charges and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The parties estimate arguments and evidence during the trial could span four to six weeks. Judge Andrew S. Blum will preside over the proceedings in Lake County Superior Court, Department 3 in Lakeport. The trial jury was selected Oct. 25.
The prosecution alleges Beasley recruited Frank Maddox, 32, and Yvette Maddox, 40, to assist in a Lake County marijuana operation in 2009 but suspected the couple stole drugs from his apartment in January 2010.
Elijah Bae McKay, an alleged accomplice charged as a co-defendant, testified at Beasley”s preliminary hearing, saying Beasley planned to scare the couple at gunpoint on Jan. 22, 2010 — the night McKay claimed they died.
McKay, 30, is not standing trial this week because his case is on a different track. He has not yet undergone a preliminary hearing.
Both men remain in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow trial coverage live on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh or #RobbyBeasley.
