Defendant wants Ceres death penalty case dismissed

Mark Edward Mesiti, who is legally representing himself, says his right to a speedy trial has been violated and he wants a Stanislaus County judge to dismiss his death penalty case.

But Mesiti wasn’t ready to proceed with his defense motion Friday afternoon because, he said, there was sewage flooding near his jail cell.

He is accused of killing his 14-year-old daughter, Alycia Mesiti. On March 25, 2009, the girl’s body was found buried in the backyard of the Ceres home where Mesiti lived at the time of her disappearance in August 2006.

Mesiti told the judge that there was sewage flooding Friday afternoon on his tier in the central jail in downtown Modesto. He said he had to return to his jail cell and move his court documents to prevent them from being damaged.

Sheriff Adam Christianson said floor drains and cell drains in a portion of the jail had backed up about 12:30 p.m. Friday. He said maintenance staff quickly cleared the drains, and the tier was cleaned.

“As jail flooding goes, this was a minor incident at best,” Christianson said. “We deal with this issue all the time as the inmates regularly and intentionally flush material that clogs the drainage system.”

A shift sergeant at the jail spoke to Mesiti as he was taken to court Friday afternoon, and Mesiti didn’t say anything about fearing damage to property in his jail cell, according to the sheriff. He said Mesiti had his personal items stacked on his bed before he went to court.

After the hearing, Mesiti told jail staff members that none of his personal items were ruined. Christianson said he believes Mesiti was a bit disingenuous with the judge and used the situation to his advantage.

Superior Court Judge Dawna Reeves scheduled Mesiti to return to her courtroom Oct. 31, when he can argue in support of his motion to dismiss.

Mesiti has argued before that jail officials have violated his constitutional rights by keeping his hands in cuffs while he is supposed to be preparing his defense. Reeves has rejected that claim, saying the defendant has a legal team at these meetings at the jail to assist him in reviewing documents and other evidence in his case.

Along with the capital murder charge, Mesiti is charged with more than 40 counts of sexually abusing his daughter, as well as sexual abuse charges involving two other girls, according to a criminal grand jury indictment. Mesiti’s trial is scheduled to start Feb. 6.

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Defendant wants Ceres death penalty case dismissed."