Brianna Denison suspect Biela loses second attempt to split up trials.

posted on: June 26, 2009

After giving the lawyers for the man charged with raping and killing a college co-ed and sexually assaulting two others a second chance to argue for separating the cases into three trials, a judge on Friday again denied their request.
Advertisement

In order to ensure that James Biela receives a fair trial, Washoe District Judge Robert Perry said he must "balance the rights of the defendant against the unnecessary costs in money and time which would be incurred in holding three trials of similar length where substantially similar evidence would be necessarily admitted."

"Having analyzed its prior order, the court concludes that there is no reason to rule differently," Perry said.

Deputy Public Defender Richard Davies said he accepted Perry's second ruling.

"We respect the judge's decision and are prepared to go forward with the trial as it is," Davies said. Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler, who had argued against severing the cases, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Biela is charged with killing Brianna Denison, a 19-year-old Santa Barbara college student who disappeared from a friend's house near the University of Nevada, Reno campus on Jan. 20. Her body was found on Feb. 15 in southeast Reno. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

After his arrest in November, Biela also was charged with raping a UNR student on Oct. 22 as she approached her car in a university parking garage, and charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting another UNR student on Dec. 17.

Biela could face the death penalty if convicted.

More on RGJ >>

Judge denies Biela's request for separate trials.

posted on: May 4, 2009

A judge on Monday denied James Biela's request to hold three separate trials, saying that prosecutors had successfully argued that there was a "common scheme or plan" in the rape and strangulation of Brianna Denison and the sexual assault of two other college students.

Washoe District Judge Robert Perry also denied claims by his lawyers that the publicity surrounding the Denison case would cause unfair prejudice against Biela in the other two cases.

“It seems inequitable for the defendants to enhance the probability of prejudice, then use it to his advantage to change venue in spite of its impact on cost and judicial economy,” Perry said in his ruling. “The court believes that a single trial may in fact decrease the probability of publicity and prejudice.”

Deputy District Attorney Elliott praised Perry’s order.

“We look forward to taking the case to one trial, instead of three,” he said.

Deputy Public Defender Jay Slocum said he had not seen the judge’s ruling by early afternoon and declined to comment until he had a chance to read it.

Denison, 19, was visiting friends in January 2008 near the University of Nevada, Reno campus when she disappeared. Her body was found two weeks later in a south Reno field.

Biela was charged in November with killing Denison. He also was charged with raping a UNR student at gunpoint in a university parking garage on Oct. 22, 2007, and with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a third woman on Dec. 17, 2007.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He could face the death penalty if convicted. His trial is set for Feb. 22.

On Friday, Slocum argued that the there were substantial differences between the three crimes and with the evidence in each case. He also argued that the jury might confuse the strength of some of the evidence presented in one case with weaker evidence in another and convict on all three.

But Perry disagreed, saying there was enough evidence to support the idea that there was a “purposeful design” in the attacks of “a certain class of victim, in a particular area, at certain vulnerable times and with similar objectives.”

“All three women were all of college age and small in stature,” he said. “They were attacked very near the campus of the University of Nevada within a 400-yard area and at a similar time of the night when they were tired, alone and possibly impaired.”

During each assault, the attacker either took or asked for the victim’s underwear, Perry said. And all three occurred between October 2007 and January 2008.

Although there is sure to be substantial media coverage of the trial, Perry said he would “exercise every caution to prevent unfair prejudice.”

“At trial, the court will specifically instruct the jury as to the limited use, which may be made of the evidence in this case,” he said.

 Source: RGJ

 

Brianna Denison suspect asks for separate trials; prosecutor says cases were close.

posted on: May 1, 2009

The strangulation of Brianna Denison, the rape of another woman at gunpoint in a parking garage and the abduction and sexual assault of a third woman were all distinctly different crimes, and each should be tried separately, a lawyer for James Biela argued this afternoon.

 "They would like the court to believe there was a similar attack pattern," Deputy Public Defender Jay Slocum said of the prosecutors. "Our contention is there is not," he said, and urged Washoe District Judge Robert Perry to sever the three cases.

But Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler cited a list of similarities among the three cases -- they occurred near each other at the university, late at night, against women who had similar builds -- and asked the judge to keep the cases together.

"What we have here is a man who basically is a predator," Sattler said. He conducted "sexually motivated attacks on unsuspecting college-aged girls."

"The facts, they all point to the same person committing all of these acts one month after the other," he said. "And they were all conducted within that 400-foot radius on North Virginia Street."

The two rapes were "basically across the street from each other," Sattler said. "That's how close these are. I would suggest that you could throw a rock from one place to the other."

He said it would be like arguing that the Columbine School shootings in Colorado were in different places because the attacks occurred in different classrooms.

"It's all part of the same activity," Sattler said. "Their argument is completely absurd."

Arguments continued into the afternoon. It was not known if Perry would rule today or later.

Source: RGJ

100% of proceeds go to The Bring Bri Justice Foundation