Witness informant identity to be protected in Manila murder case and Catherine Fode may be releasedf from custody

(Fode)

(Mitchell)

(Thompson)

(Valenzula)

(Godoy- Standley)

I have not covered the five codefendant case murder and carjacking case from 2016 but I happened to walk into court this morning in the middle of a discussion about an in camera hearing requested by the prosecution and no other media was in court.

Catherine Fode is represented by Mr. Neal Sanders. Hector Godoy-Standley is represented by Mr. Russ Clanton. Brandon Mitchell is represented by Ms. Andrea Sullivan. Tamara  Thomson represented by Mr. David Nims and Cesar Valenzuela represented by Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo. Ms. Sara Zalkin appeared in court today on behslf of Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Clanton.

The victim was Tyson Eduardo Claros.

Days before trial confirmation and a jury trial is scheduled to start for four suspects, there was a twist which may lead to the release of  Catherine Fode. She has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is expected to testify for the prosecution. Her sentencing is on hold until after the trial.

Based on the developments of this morning, Judge Christopher Wilson told Mr. Sanders he could file a motion for her release. Mr. Sanders said "my client has been in custody for three years." That does not mean that Fode will be released.

Judge Wilson ordered Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer to prepare a protective order regarding the identity of a People's witness.

A 352 hearing was mentioned by Judge Wilson.

According to Findlaw, "The court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will (a) necessitate undue consumption of time or (b) create substantial danger of undue prejudice, of confusing the issues, or of misleading the jury."

Judge Wilson asked that the DA investigator provide a report regarding subject witness and any compensation provided to law enforcement for information and  other cases in which that witness was informant. The compensation is not money but usually some sort of deal with the DA regarding charges.