A Lyon County judge has denied a motion to consolidate the cases against four defendants accused of burglarizing locations in rural Lyon County.
Judge W. Lee Fowler made the ruling Tuesday after the attorneys for Nathyn Kennedy, Dianna Lee, Clinton Moody and Andrea Redburn each objected to the state’s motion. Assistant Lyon County Attorney Carissa Brinker argued for the state that consolidating the four defendants would be more efficient as the state would be presenting the same evidence in each of the four cases and could shorten the length of a jury trial.
Judge Fowler said consolidation could potentially mean a longer jury selection process. The four defense attorneys agreed and believed consolidating the four co-defendants would’ve created more prejudices if they had to call other co-defendants to the stand and could taint their defendant’s ability to defend themselves. Lee’s attorney Stuart Symmonds noted he expected antagonistic defenses in relation to his client’s possession of methamphetamine charge. Redburn’s attorney Frederick Meier suggested his own cross-examination might be detrimental to other co-defendants.
The four co-defendants are charged in connection to a Jan. 17 incident in rural Lyon County where they were allegedly caught in the act of burglarizing at least one structure. All four are charged with burglary of a non-dwelling, theft and criminal trespass. Lee is also charged with possession of methamphetamine, while Redburn is also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.
The four cases will proceed with individual trials.
* Dianna Lee has a pretrial hearing set for 2 p.m. May 16 in front of Judge Jeffry Larson. No trial date has been set.
* Andrea Redburn will appear for a final pretrial hearing at 3:30 p.m. May 30 in front of Judge Fowler. A trial is set for June 4.
* Nathyn Kennedy has a final pretrial hearing at 3:30 p.m. June 6 in front of Judge Fowler. A trial is set for June 11.
* Clinton Moody has a final pretrial hearing at 3:30 p.m. July 25 in front of Judge Merlin Wheeler. A trial is set for July 30.
From left to right: Nathyn Kennedy, Dianna Lee, Andrea Redburn and Clinton Moody. Photos courtesy Lyon County Corrections.
