LAKEPORT — Testimony in the Robby Alan Beasley double-murder trial was interrupted Wednesday after the prosecution played part of an audio recording that was supposed to be redacted.
Beasley, 32, of Clearlake faces three felonies in connection with the Jan. 22, 2010 shooting deaths of Maine residents Frank and Yvette Maddox. Their remains were found off Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake about six weeks later.
Authorities allege Beasley shot Frank Maddox, 32, and his wife Yvette, 40, after believing the two stole marijuana from his apartment. He reportedly recruited the couple to help with a Lake County marijuana operation in October 2009.
Retired Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) Det. Tom Andrews testified Wednesday that Beasley was taken into custody in early March 2010 and participated in a recorded interview with law enforcement.
Andrews said the context of the interview was asking Beasley about two missing people.
The prosecution then played the audio recording for the jury.
The defendant admitted knowing the couple, said he thought they were using methamphetamine in Lake County and called Frank Maddox a friend, according to the recording.
Beasley said at one point, “So they”re missing, like they never went home? They got money off me to go home.”
But 13 minutes into the recording, a portion of the interview thought to be redacted started to play.
Deputy district attorney Art Grothe stopped the disc, but jurors listened to several seconds of comments they weren”t supposed to — though most of the comments were difficult to hear.
The jury was immediately excused from the courtroom, and the attorneys spoke with the judge about the error.
Grothe admitted fault for playing the wrong audio version. Defense counsel Stephen Carter said he would not move for a mistrial based on the mistake.
The proceedings paused for nearly an hour while Grothe worked to obtain a properly redacted disc. When the prosecutor returned, he told the court he spot-checked the new version.
Judge Andrew S. Blum said he wanted to interrupt Andrews” testimony so the attorneys could confirm the accuracy of the entire audio.
“There”s too much at stake to be wrong,” Blum said. “I”m not having that disc played until both of you have heard it.”
After the jury returned to the courtroom, Blum told jurors to disregard the several seconds of inappropriate audio. They were then excused for the rest of the day.
LCSO Det. John Drewrey was the only witness called Wednesday.
He said investigators spent two days searching for a gun near where the bodies were discovered but found no firearm.
They also looked in the creek behind the Lower Lake apartment complex where Beasley grew marijuana, according to Drewrey. That search came up dry as well.
Before testimony began, Blum excused one juror from service because of a medical issue. An alternate was selected at random as a replacement. The trial is down to five alternates after starting with seven.
The trial will reconvene Thursday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.
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.
