He faces eight felony counts — one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of possession of a controlled substance for transportation and five counts for weapons violations — and could face the death penalty if convicted, Deputy Dist. Atty. Keri Modder said.
The run-up to the trial has been beset by delays stemming from a location change, a mountain of evidence and security issues, attorneys said.
At a pretrial conference in a Pasadena courthouse in November, attorneys said they envisioned a June start to the trial, but a change of venue was one reason it has been pushed back, Modder said.
“On Jan. 14, the case was moved from Pasadena to Downtown,” she said. “Downtown is better suited for long-cause cases, which are trials lasting longer than a couple weeks, and better equipped to deal with high security issues.”
Garcia is a suspected member of a street gang, which has forced Modder to address the security concerns of the case absent from the actual trial.
“We tend to be very cautious,” she said. “They have a secure floor Downtown, which district courts don’t have.”
In the run up to the trial, defense attorneys continue to sift through evidence, another reason why more time is needed to move forward.
“We just want to make sure we’re prepared before we go to war,” Garcia’s attorney Seymour Amster said.
But the prosecution is ready to try the case, Modder said.
“They’ve had a long time to go through everything,” she said. “We turned everything over a while ago.”
Perry set May 16 as the next pre-trial date, adhering to a 60-day requirement in line with the 6th Amendment’s call for a right to a speedy trial but sought assurances attorneys would be ready to go in September, though he set no exact date.
“I’m hesitant to grant a [60-day extension] as some cases get put on the back shelf,” he said. “I trust you to work on this.”
