A Lakeport woman arrested and facing murder charges was in custody and recently present at the Lake County Superior Court for a preliminary hearing.
Attorney Thomas C. Quinn, representing the defendant, Melinda Mildred Fred, 39, stated that more discovery is needed before he feels that he can proceed to the preliminary examination.
During the recent hearing there was no objection by the People to Mr. Quinn’s request and the Court found good cause to continue the matter.
The Court, pursuant to the request of the defendant, ordered the master calendar call hearing be continued to Oct. 6 with the preliminary examination continued to Oct. 11, 2023.
During a hearing last month defense counsel, Thomas C. Quinn, withdrew his motion to compel and requested a continuation in this matter. Being there was no objection at that time, the preliminary examination was rescheduled.
A motion to compel is a request for the court to enforce a request for information related to a case.
During a hearing in July, defense counsel appeared remotely and indicated he was not ready for the preliminary hearing as there was outstanding discovery in the matter. He requested then that the matter be continued.
There was no objection to the request for a continuance as the Court found cause to continue the matter, which was continued.
In June the Court took up the bail review hearing and the probation officer’s assessment was read and considered.
Defense counsel presented exhibits, which were letters in support of the defendant and the victim’s registration under Megan’s Law.
Megan’s Law is the name for a federal law in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. Laws were created in response to the murder of Megan Kanka.
The matter was argued and submitted.
The motion to reduce bail was denied and the Court stated the issue may be revisited after the preliminary hearing.
In May, during an arraignment hearing, the Court appointed Thomas C. Quinn as counsel for the defendant.
Bail was set in the amount of $1M and bail was not argued at that time.
A copy of the complaint was provided to the defendant by the jail staff.
The defendant has been charged with murder, assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm (with gross bodily injury likely) and inflict corporal injury on spouse/cohabitant.
The charges stem from an incident in May when Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call in the early morning hours that someone had been stabbed on Red Feather Lane in Lakeport.
According to Lake County Sheriff Lt. Lucas Bingham, deputies located Christopher Aaron Burrows on the ground with a stab wound.
Life-saving measures were unsuccessful as Burrows succumbed to his injuries. He was declared dead at the scene.
Upon an investigation, which included video surveillance and reviews, Melinda Fred was questioned by detectives. She was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail.
