SAN BERNARDINO — The man accused of murdering a Fallbrook couple and their two toddler sons can represent himself at trial, a judge ruled Friday.
Judge Michael Smith granted the request made by Charles “Chase” Merritt, who is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their two children, sons Gianni, 4, and Joey Jr., 3.
At a hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court on Friday Smith also denied a request by media organizations to unseal search warrants linked to the investigation.
The warrants and supporting documentation could give insight into what evidence investigators have gathered in the case. The McStays disappeared in February 2010. Their bodies were found in shallow graves near Victorville in November 2013.
A year later, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s homicide detectives arrested Merritt, a business associate of Joseph McStay, but have said little about what led them to suspect the 57-year-old Homeland resident. McStay ran a company that provided indoor water fountains, and often hired Merritt, a welder, to craft the products.
Merritt has a heart condition and wants to represent himself in order to save time and money, his attorney Robert Ponce told the court. "He doesn't think he has six or eight months to live," Ponce said.
Later, outside the courtroom, he said his client had notified him of the request that morning. "He said he spent the night thinking about it," Ponce said.
"He's smart enough to know what he's getting into," Ponce said of Merritt.
The judge granted the motion -- called a pro per request -- but said he wants Merritt to provide a doctor's note stating that he's healthy enough to represent himself.
Smith set the next court date in the case for Feb. 20. A preliminary hearing in the case has been set for April 7.
In regard to the search warrants, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Merritt, opposed the combined legal request of 18 media organizations, including U-T San Diego, to unseal warrants investigators obtained as they delved into the slayings.
Prosecutors want to keep the documents under wraps until after Merritt’s preliminary hearing — when some of the evidence would be presented in court — and say unsealing the warrants too soon could jeopardize the investigation
Attorney Kelly Aviles, who is representing the media groups, argued that the public has a presumptive right of access to the records, under the First Amendment as well as under California law.
Last week, the same group of media outfits prevailed in a bid to unseal four search warrants obtained by investigators in San Diego in the initial days after the family disappeared. San Diego investigators did not oppose the unsealing request.
Charles "Chase" Merritt at a court appearance in San Bernardino.
View Gallery
Family members and friends of the McStay family whose bodies were found in November 2013 in the San Bernardino County desert gathered at the site last year to remember them. Crosses were placed and doves were released where the Fallbrook ... — / John Valenzuela/Los Angeles News Group
Fliers with color photos of the missing McStay family handed out by family on Saturday April 3, 2010, in San Ysidro. The McStay family's vehicle, a white 1996 Isuzu Trooper, was found abandoned in a San Ysidro parking lot on ... — Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune
Photos of the missing McStay family are posted at the press conference at the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Office. — Charlie Neuman
Gianni (on top) and Joseph McStay Jr. —
FILE - These file images provided by the San Diego Police Department shows members of the McStay family, who disappeared from their Fallbrook home more than three years ago. Patrick McStay, Joseph McStay's father, told a San Diego-area TV station ... — The Associated Press
Residents of Victorville Calif. and surrounding communities place crosses near the graves where the McStay family was found, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013 in Victorville, Calif. Four skeletons found in shallow graves in the Southern California desert are believed to be ... — The Associated Press
Mike McStay, center back, who is the brother of Joseph McStay, sits on his board sideways as he and friends and family members do a memorial paddle out for Joseph McStay, his wife Summer, and their children Gianni, 4, and ... — Hayne Palmour IV
Mike McStay, left, high fives a friend after a memorial paddle-out for hsi brother Joseph McStay and his family at the San Clemente Pier. — Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego
Mike McStay shows a tattoo of him and his brother Joseph McStay on his left arm after a memorial paddle-out for his brother and his family at the San Clemente Pier. — Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego
Friends and family tossed flower petals into the ocean during a memorial paddle-out for the McStay's family the San Clemente Pier — Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego
Kelly Salas, right, hugs Erin McStay, wife of Mike McStay, after a memorial service for Joseph McStay and his family at the Vineyard Community Church in Laguna Niguel. — Hayne Palmour IV / UT San Diego
(11-14-13)--VICTORVILLE--METRO--The area where skeletal remains were found in shallow graves Tuesday November 12, near Victorville west of the 15 Freeway. The remains found there were later determined to belong to the missing McStay family from Fallbrook. LaFonzo Carter/Los Angeles News ... —
On Saturday April 3, 2010, Mike McStay hands out fliers with color photos of his brother and his family, missing from their Fallbrook home since Feb. 4. The McStay family's vehicle, a white 1996 Isuzu Trooper, was found abandoned in ... — Nelvin C. Cepeda / Union-Tribune
Susan McStay, mother of Joseph McStay, left, and friend of victims' family, Emily, whose last name was not given, listen during a news conference at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, in San Bernardino, ... — The Associated Press
Michael McStay, brother of Joseph McStay, cries during press conference at San Bernardino County Sheriffs Station. — Charlie Neuman
Investigators arrest Charles "Chase" Merritt for the murders of Joseph, Summer, Gianni & Joseph Jr. McStay on Nov. 5, 2014. — San Bernardino Sheriff's Office
Charles "Chase" Merritt, right, enters a courtroom in Victorville, Calif. on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he beat to death a family of four, then buried the bodies in the desert. (AP Photo/Daily ... —
No comments:
Post a Comment