Carson murder trial set for June, but could be postponed

A judge on Monday scheduled a trial to start June 19 for Modesto attorney Frank Carson and two others charged with the murder of Korey Kauffman. But there’s chance the trial will be postponed because a new attorney is joining the case.

Two weeks ago, Judge Barbara Zuniga ordered Carson and brothers Baljit Athwal and Daljit Atwal to stand trial on charges of murder and conspiracy to obstruct justice. On Monday, all three pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing.

Jai Gohel, a San Francisco-based attorney, has been hired to represent Baljit Athwal. The defendant was represented by Martha Carlton-Magaña during a preliminary hearing that went on for nearly 18 months, which became the longest preliminary hearing in Stanislaus County history.

TRIAL DELAY

Gohel said he will do his best to be ready for trial in June, but he will likely ask the court to postpone the trial to give him more time to get up-to-speed. The investigation into Kauffman’s death started in spring 2012, resulting in thousands of pages of evidence and numerous hours of recorded police interviews and interrogations.

Judge Zuniga was forced to schedule the trial within 60 days because Carson refused to waive his right to a speedy trial. Gohel will have a chance to file a motion to delay the trial early next month.

Prosecutors accuse Carson of being the ringleader of a criminal conspiracy to thwart thieves from repeatedly stealing antiques and scrap metal from his property on Ninth Street in Turlock. =Kauffman, 26, went missing in 2012; his body was found more than a year later in Mariposa County.

The defense has said this is a case of wrongful prosecution by vindictive prosecutors intent on ruining Carson, a prominent criminal defense attorney.

WELLS PROSECUTED SEPARATELY

Former California Highway Patrol Officer Walter Wells also was ordered stand trial in the Kauffman murder case. Wells is accused of being part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice and acting as an accessory after Kauffman was killed.

Wells will now be prosecuted separately, and he will get a new attorney. The court will appoint an attorney to represent Wells, who had hired Livermore-based Timothy Rien to represent him during the preliminary hearing.

Zuniga said the Stanislaus County Public Defender’s Office will first determine whether there are any conflicts of interest that will prevent it from representing Wells. If so, the court will then go down a list of qualified attorneys who can take the job.

Rien has said there isn’t sufficient evidence to support any of the allegations against Wells. Even if Wells was convicted of conspiracy and accessory, Rien has said Wells would then be released for time already served in jail.

Judge Zuniga scheduled Wells to return to court Thursday. His arraignment was postponed until the court appoints an attorney to represent him.

Wells will return to court later this week with co-defendants Eduardo Quintanar Jr. and Scott McFarlane, who are also being prosecuted separately in the Kauffman murder case. Quintanar Jr. and McFarlane, who are also former CHP officers, are accused of conspiracy to obstruct justice and being accessories.

The judge dropped all charges against Carson’s wife, Georgia DeFillipo and her daughter, Christina DeFilippo in the Kauffman murder case. Robert Forkner, who represented the daughter during the preliminary hearing, is now co-counsel representing Carson along with Percy Martinez.

BACK TO MAIN COURTHOUSE

The preliminary hearing was held in a former federal bankruptcy court building on 12th and L streets in downtown Modesto to accommodate the large number of attorneys, defendants and court staff. Zuniga said Monday that the case will be moved back to the main courthouse, because the court’s lease for the former bankruptcy courtroom will end in early June.

The judge also scheduled hearings over the next two months to hear arguments in defense motions challenging the criminal complaint filed by prosecutors last week. Zuniga will also hear arguments in defense motions asking the court to remove the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office from the case and alleging prosecutorial misconduct.

Martinez is challenging a special circumstances allegation that Kauffman’s murder was committed while lying in wait. Chief Deputy District Attorney Marlisa Ferreira added that special circumstance allegation against Carson, Athwal and Atwal to the criminal complaint, even though Zuniga dropped that allegation in her ruling earlier this month.

The judge has said the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence to support the defendants’ intent to kill when a scuffle began that led to the alleged deadly shooting. It will be up to retired Monterey County Judge Robert Moody on June 5 to decide whether to uphold Zuniga’s ruling on the special circumstance allegation.

If the special circumstance allegation is once again added to the charges, the defendants could be facing life in prison without the chance of parole.

Judge Moody also will decide whether to uphold a perjury charge against Carson. The prosecution accuses Carson of filing a form with information he knew to be false under penalty of perjury in March 2014. Judge Zuniga ordered Carson to stand trial on the perjury charge, but she has said the charge has nothing to do with the Kauffman murder case.

The prosecution on May 1 will ask Zuinga to reconsider her decision not to order Carson, Athwal and Atwal back to jail and set a bail amount for them. In late December, Zuniga abruptly released Carson, Atwal and Athwal on their own recognizance after prosecutors revealed they had located more evidence not handed over to the defense. The defendants remain free as they await trial.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Carson murder trial set for June, but could be postponed."