Thomas Andrew Magee, 62, of Clearlake, was out of the hospital and in custody, appearing at the setting of the preliminary hearing and to ascertain the status of defendant’s hospital stay.
Earlier this month, Magee was not present for a Master Calendar Call Hearing at the Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport as he was in the hospital due to a medical condition.
During the most recent hearing with the defendant present, defense counsel requested the matter be set for a long-cause preliminary hearing. A long-cause preliminary hearing is defined as a hearing on a request for order that extends more than a single court day.
A Master Calendar Call Hearing has been set for March 27, 2020, confirming that trials and other proceedings before the court can be scheduled so as not to conflict with one another.
The preliminary hearing has been set for April 2, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 4.
During a hearing earlier this year, Defense Attorney Angelina Potter addressed that there was outstanding discovery in this matter and she requested a continuance.
The Court, pursuant to the request of the Defendant, ordered this matter be continued.
The Master Calendar Call had been re-scheduled for Jan. 31, 2020 and the Jury Trial was set for Feb. 5, 2020.
Magee has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and hit and run.
The charges stem from an incident last September when a Lucerne man died after a vehicle-pedestrian collision that local authorities say was murder.
Sheriff’s office public information officer Lt. Corey Paulich said deputies had been dispatched along with California Highway Patrol officers to the area of Highway 20 and Lucerne’s 7th Avenue, where they found a male pedestrian with critical injuries. The man, who was later identified as Joseph Symond Jackson, 40, of Lucerne, was flown to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to Paulich, law enforcement officers determined, based on witness statements and the nature of the accident, that Jackson had been “intentionally struck” and that the suspect had “fled the scene.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office booked Thomas Andrew Magee on Sept. 10, 2019 into the Lake County Jail on suspicion of murder with bail set at $1 million.
Witnesses said Magee and Jackson had been in a dispute over property, Paulich added.
According to Paulich, Magee, driving a white van, was arrested by CHP in Clearlake Oaks. The sheriff’s major crimes unit responded to investigate.
The defendant remains in custody.
Mental competency of Clearlake man delays vehicle theft matter
During a sentencing hearing earlier this month, Marissa Marie Prude, 29, of Clearlake, was in custody, appearing at the Lake County Superior Court.
Defense Attorney Thomas Feimer announced he had filed a Mental Health Diversion Petition, which the Court, pursuant to the request of the defendant, ordered this matter be continued.
The matter was continued to set a Mental Health Diversion Hearing.
At that time, Defense Counsel indicated that Dr. Taylor Fithian has requested 30 days to evaluate the defendant.
The matter has been continued for a Mental Health Diversion or Re-Setting of Sentencing Hearing on April 14, 2020 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 3.
Earlier this year, Marissa Prude entered a nolo plea to the felony charge of vehicle theft. A nolo plea allows the defendant to not accept or deny responsibility for the charge(s) but to agree to and accept the punishment.
Prude had also been charged with a violation of probation as the defendant had violated his probation after being convicted of criminal threats in July of last year.
The most recent of the charges, being vehicle theft, stems from an incident in October of last year when a community service officer with the Clearlake Police Department followed an erratic driver, discovering the vehicle had just been stolen.
Prude was booked into the Lake County Jail on suspicion of taking a vehicle without its owner’s consent and remains in custody.
According to the CPD, the stolen vehicle (a red Kia Sephia) was “returned to its rightful owner and this incident concluded.”
