Two men accused in the bludgeoning death of a 51-year-old handyman inside a West 20th Street home will stand trial for murder, a Merced County judge decided Friday.
Commissioner Harry Jacobs concluded during a preliminary hearing that ample evidence exists to try Jerry Dale Choate, 22, and Christopher Paul Anderson, 19, for allegedly beating Richard Mora to death with an axe handle during a robbery.
Meanwhile, new details revealed Choate and Anderson weren't the only ones alleged to be at the scene when Mora was killed. Defense attorneys in the case also raised questions about the lead detective's family connections to the prosecution's star witness.
Both men have pleaded not guilty to the murder charges. Choate, who goes by the nickname "JJ," claims to have been somewhere else the night of the killing, while Anderson maintains he was at the scene, but didn't participate, according to their attorneys.
Mora's decomposing body was found inside the 326 W. 20th St. home Aug. 1. Detectives arrested Choate and Anderson less than two weeks later.
Prosecutors haven't pinned down the specific date of the killing, although Mora was last seen alive on July 28. Merced police detectives believe Mora was renovating the home when the defendants broke into the home, robbed him of tools and killed him.
Detective Joe Deliman,the case's lead investigator, testified about statements Anderson made, saying he was nervous, sweating and claimed he "didn't do anything wrong." Anderson told detectives he, Choate and a woman planned on going to the 20th Street home during an evening to steal some tools. As part of the plot, Choate said he'd "knockout" whoever was inside the house, if he had to.
Choate entered the home through a window, carrying an axe handle, while Anderson crawled after him. The woman who accompanied the defendants waited outside, to act as a lookout. Anderson described seeing Choate's shadow swinging the handle, hitting the victim. Anderson told detectives he "freaked out" and fled through the back door.
The prosecution's star witness, the woman who allegedly acted as the lookout for the defendants, testified during Friday's hearing. The Sun-Star agreed to withhold her identity, because of concerns raised by the prosecution about her personal safety.
She was given immunity for her testimony by the Merced County District Attorney's Office, admitting she and the defendants smoked methamphetamine before going to the house. She provided the duo with gloves and hoodies, and saw Choate pick up an item that resembled "a stick" in the yard of the 20th Street home.
After Choate and Anderson climbed through the window, while waiting outside she heard "a hit, then a struggle and more hitting." She observed Anderson flee from the house, and she also ran. The witness recalled seeing Choate leave the house with two bags, saying "what are you guys leaving without me for?"
An unusual detail also emerged during Friday's hearing. Under cross-examination from deputy public defenders Mishya Rimpel Singh and Eric Dumars, the prosecution witness acknowledged she's a longtime friend of Detective Deliman's daughter -- and was even wearing pants she'd borrowed from Deliman's daughter when the murder happened.
Singh and Dumars, who are defending Choate, peppered Deliman with questions about his daughter's connection with the prosecution's star witness. Deliman acknowledged he'd first met the witness when she and his daughter were friends in high school. Still, Deliman said he didn't know how often his daughter and the witness "hung out," adding he hadn't seen the witness since his daughter was in high school, which was nearly 10 years ago.
