Public defender Robert Conley estimated this morning that the trial of accused Fire Station killer Myron DeShun Grant may not begin until July, 25 months after he was charged and 3½ years after City Hall consultant Paul Bilodeau was shot to death at the Fox Hills construction site.
Before this morning’s hearing at the Airport Courthouse, Mr. Conley said his client “rejected out of hand” the prosecution’s tradeoff offer of 15-years-to-life.
If convicted of murdering the 45-year-old Mr. Bilodeau early on the evening of Jan. 2, 2009, for unspoken reasons, in a construction trailer, Mr. Grant likely would face a 50-to-life proposition.
What is the distinction between the two choices, given the turbulent state of prison culture in California?
“Some, but not much,” Mr. Conley acknowledged.
That would help to explain Mr. Grant’s swift turndown.
“The offer was nowhere near being accepted,” Mr. Conley said after leaving Judge James Dabney’s eighth-floor courtroom. “At this point, we are not close to a settlement. We anticipate this will go to trial.”
The public defender told Judge Dabney he was “nowhere near” prepared to go to trial because there was an uncommon amount of discovery/evidence to be sorted through, “enough to fill a wall.”
The judge is well-known for his pithy observations and tart rejoinders.
“I need a few months to get ready,” Mr. Conley said, and the judge fired back:
“I am getting all choked up.”
(To be continued)
