LAKEPORT — Nearly two years after she was arrested and charged with felony grand theft, Tracey Avila, tribal chair of the Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians, is set to go on trial Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse.
Authorities allege Avila, 51, of Nice, stole tens of thousands of dollars from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians while working as that tribe”s fiscal officer between February 2006 and September 2008.
Avila, who has pleaded not guilty, was arrested in September 2011 and held to answer for the lone grand theft charge after a preliminary hearing last October.
Avila”s jury trial was scheduled to begin on June 19, but her defense counsel, R. Justin Petersen, filed a motion the week prior for a continuance, citing primarily that the defense had recently received additional discovery documents and records in the case.
Petersen also argued the defense hadn”t had ample time to prepare because he was previously involved in an unrelated trial and Avila?s battle with kidney failure had restricted her availability, according to court records.
Those two issues led to a pair of trial postponements earlier this year.
