This afternoon Kade Chandler was finally arraigned this afternoon in Courtroom 5.
The original incident occurred in February 2015. Chandler was 20 years old at that time.
Chandler is charged with Count 1 gross vehicular manslaughter, Count 2 gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and special allegation of great bodily injury.
Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees is prosecuting the case.
Courtroom 5 was packed with family and friends of the three victims and their lawyers.
Ms. Elan Firpo represents the third victim in the accident, Bradley Thuemler. Mr. Patrik Griego represents the families of the two women, Savannah Kiana Kindred and Kendra Paige Leialoha Lewis. who died in the crash. His colleague David Nims was in court today for the arraignment.
The two women were members of the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe.
Private attorneys Mr. Benjamin Okin represents Chandler. Mr. Manny Daskal was also in court on behalf of Chandler and requested discovery.
Pleas of not guilty to all charges and special allegations were entered by Mr. Okin on Chandler's behalf. Chandler stood quietly next to Mr. Okin in court. He was dressed in jeans and a striped shirt.
There was discussion about his custody status because Chandler appeared out of custody and people wanted remand this afternoon. DDA Roger Rees also explained why it took so long to arraign Chandler.
"The People are asking the Court to remand Mr. Chandler and to set bail according to schedule," said Mr. Rees. He said Chandler failed to negotiate a turn and was intoxicated with a combination of cocaine, opiates, marijana and alcohol. "As a result two people lost their lives." One of the women was 20 years old and the other barely over 20 years old, said Mr. Rees.
"Mr. Chandler's conduct puts entire community at risk," said Mr. Rees. " The reason Mr. Chandler is here today instead of an arrest warrant is because the People have kept in touch with Mr. Okin. As a courtesy to him and his attorney, we allowed him to appear out of custody."
Mr. Rees said that the reason arraignment took so long was that before charges could be filed, "significant investigation was done" which included investigation by the California Highway Patrol's Multi-Disciplinary team, DNA analysis and because the individuals were not wearing seatbelts, seating positions had to be determined. The report took a long time.
Judge Hinrichs acknowledged that while there were public safety issues, an arrest warrant contained declarations under penalty of jury and provided information to the Court which would be helpful to make a decision on custody status.
Mr. Okin asked for OR with terms and conditions and said this was a year later and his client was not a flight risk.
"The People were put in a position to charge prematurely than dismiss; the People took the time to gather evidence," said Mr. Rees. "The community should not be punished."
Chandler remains out of custody for now. Judge Hinrichs allowed him to leave "on OR today" with terms and conditions of no alcohol, that he could be subject to chemical testing and search and seizure without an arrest warrant and if he was insured with a valid license, he could only drive to work between the hours of 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. She referred Chandler for a supervised release report from probation.
His custody status will be addressed on February 24 at 2 p.m. Intervention is currently set for February 29 at 3 p.m. and Preliminary hearing is set for March 3 at 8:30 p.m.
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