The Times Leader is reporting that attorneys for homicide suspect Harlow Cuadra want his trial postponed.
The attorneys, William Ruzzo and John Donovan, are members of the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office. They said they need more time to prepare.
They also want more time to file pre-trial motions.
The attorneys made the requests in court papers filed Monday.
They said they are waiting to receive additional paperwork from prosecutors and an electronic reproduction of more than six hours of taped conversation involving Cuadra. They need to review those items before preparing the motions, they said.
The attorneys also want the trial, set to begin in late March, moved in order for them to track down witnesses.
Cuadra was “honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy” and had served at several military bases. His family, along with people he served with in the Navy, are “scattered throughout the world” and the attorneys need to interview them.
That, they said, will take longer than four months. They also said the Public Defender’s Office is understaffed.
The attorneys, William Ruzzo and John Donovan, are members of the Luzerne County Public Defender’s Office. They said they need more time to prepare.
They also want more time to file pre-trial motions.
The attorneys made the requests in court papers filed Monday.
They said they are waiting to receive additional paperwork from prosecutors and an electronic reproduction of more than six hours of taped conversation involving Cuadra. They need to review those items before preparing the motions, they said.
The attorneys also want the trial, set to begin in late March, moved in order for them to track down witnesses.
Cuadra was “honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy” and had served at several military bases. His family, along with people he served with in the Navy, are “scattered throughout the world” and the attorneys need to interview them.
That, they said, will take longer than four months. They also said the Public Defender’s Office is understaffed.
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The Citizens Voice adds... accused killer Harlow Raymond Cuadra has family scattered across the country and even some outside the country that attorneys need to interview.
Sailors and Marines whom Cuadra befriended before being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy also have to be found and questioned as part of a life history. The analysis of Cuadra’s life is needed should the 26-year-old be convicted of first-degree murder and face the death penalty. Jurors will hear about Cuadra’s life if they must determine whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Sailors and Marines whom Cuadra befriended before being honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy also have to be found and questioned as part of a life history. The analysis of Cuadra’s life is needed should the 26-year-old be convicted of first-degree murder and face the death penalty. Jurors will hear about Cuadra’s life if they must determine whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Those interviews of family and friends, coupled with other trial preparation that must be completed by a limited staff, were included in a motion filed Monday by the Luzerne County Public Defenders’ office asking to delay Cuadra’s trial. Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. scheduled the trial to begin March 24, 2008.
Cuadra and his alleged accomplice, Joseph Manuel Kerekes, are accused of slashing and stabbing Bryan Kocis in his Dallas Township home in January. The Virginia Beach men also are charged with torching the 44-year-old’s Midland Drive home to destroy evidence.
Cuadra’s public defenders John Donovan and William Ruzzo also argue the deadline for pre-trial motions in the case should be extended. Donovan and Ruzzo have received 614 pages of information and expect to receive 2,000 more.
Luzerne County District Attorney David Lupas’ office also has concerned the public defenders’ office about their ability to be ready for trial because of six hours of Cuadra’s conversations recorded as part of authorities’ investigation. Those tapes are expected to be used as evidence.
Cuadra and Kerekes, who are business and romantic partners, allegedly killed Kocis to eliminate the man they considered their main rival in the gay pornography business. Kocis owned Cobra Video and the rights to actor Sean Lockhart, whom Cuadra and Kerekes were trying to lure to launch their start-up gay pornography business.
The audio-taped conversations include Lockhart and Cuadra talking about Kocis on a nude beach in San Diego, according to arrest papers. Those recordings contain “discussions concerning the planning, execution and subsequent destruction of evidence,” police said.
The other defendant in the case also believes a delay is needed. Kerekes is currently represented by court-appointed county conflict counsel Mark Bufalino, Shelly Centini and John Pike.
“We are taking the same position that the trial needs to pushed back,” Pike said Monday. “There is a tremendous amount of documents to review and it will take a significant amount of time to prepare for this case.”
Olszewski has scheduled a Dec. 21 hearing in the case. The judge will hear arguments from Kerekes’ attorneys and the district attorney’s office about whether prosecutors have to provide a bill of particulars. If legally required, the district attorney’s office may be forced to place the knife in either Cuadra or Kerekes’ hands.
