Judge won't dismiss charges in Resendiz trial Sandi Wright
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL 8/12/2002 10:02 pm Felony murder charges will not be dismissed against 10 Carson City men facing trial in the 1998 killing of Sammy Resendiz, a judge ruled Monday. The lawyer for Rocky Boice Jr., 25, filed a motion last week asking Judge Michael Griffin to dismiss the felony murder charges, a move that was attempted in 1999 and landed the case in the Nevada Supreme Court. District Attorney Noel Waters, who leads the prosecution of the 10 American Indians, was clearly exasperated by the motion. "The same refrain has already been raised to this court. This is just another attempt by another attorney to resurrect something that�s already been decided," Waters said. "Secondly, burglary is in the felony murder rule, and has been there as a part of the statute since 1885," he said. The judge agreed. "The motion is denied. The decision by the Supreme Court is the law of the case," Griffin said. "It is binding and final, and it can no longer be considered by this court." The prosecution contends that Resendiz died Aug. 23, 1998, from massive head injuries after a fight with 12 men who later were charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit battery, principal to battery with use of a deadly weapon and burglary. But in 1999, two accepted plea bargains, and then-District Judge Michael Fondi dismissed the first-degree murder charges against the 10 remaining defendants. Waters filed second-degree murder charges and appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, asking it to decide if Fondi�s decision was in error. At Waters� request, all action was stopped on the case until the court�s decision. In a 4-3 ruling in May, the state�s high court reinstated the first-degree felony murder charges against the remaining defendants. Investigators in the case have said the group went to the Round House Inn with bats and clubs seeking retribution against Resendiz for a fight earlier that evening involving a female member of the Carson Indian Colony. Griffin also said Monday he will rule this week on a motion to obtain criminal records of Dr. Richard Conte, the emergency room physician who attended to Resendiz in 1998. Conte, in the Douglas County Jail on $1 million bail and an FBI hold, is accused of kidnapping his ex-wife at gunpoint from her Salt Lake City home in June and holding her hostage in his home on Clear Creek Road. "We think he didn�t just get that way overnight, and we�d like to pursue leads at the time he was treating Sammy Resendiz," Boice�s lawyer, Day Williams, told the judge. Williams has sought to subpoena Conte�s records, but Waters filed a motion to stop the subpoena. "This is the third time they have done this, and if they want arrest records and reports, then darn it, they need to follow the statute, which is to file a motion," Waters said. Griffin instructed Williams to file the motion, and agreed to hear it on Thursday. Boice�s trial is set for Aug. 26. The other nine will stand trial over the next seven months. Copyright � 2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal -- Andr� Cramblit: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE OF AMERICAN INDIANS/NATIVE AMERICANS/ALASKAN NATIVES & HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS. For news of interest to Natives subscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or go to: http://www.topica.com/lists/NativeAmericanNews/subscribe/?location=listinfo Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
