Spring Valley

A judge has delayed until July 1 the murder trial of a Spring Valley man charged with killing two San Diego police officers because of a challenge to the jury selection method.

Santa Ana Superior Court Judge Everett Dickey granted a discovery motion Thursday by attorneys for Joselito Cinco, 26, who is being tried in Orange County under a change of venue.

Cinco could face the death penalty if convicted in the Sept. 14, 1984, slayings of officers Kimberly Sue Tonahill, 24, of La Mesa and Timothy Ruopp, 31, of San Diego in Balboa Park.

Cinco’s attorney, John Cotsirilos, has alleged that Hispanics are not fairly represented in the jury pool called by the Orange County jury commissioner.

Dickey ordered the commissioner Thursday to turn over all the lists of potential jurors within the last year to Cotsirilos.

“The number of Hispanics who serve on jury panels is grossly different than the number of Hispanics in Orange County,” the defense attorney said. “Our feeling is that, somewhere, Hispanics are being lost.”

Cotsirilos said the commissioner must supply the data to him by April 1, and that he will return July 1 to argue further regarding the results of his analysis.

Although the judge set the trial for July 1, Cotsirilos said he would first argue the jury challenge motion in a hearing expected to last two to four weeks. Jury selection probably will not begin until August, Cotsirilos said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Howard Shore, who has opposed the motion, could not be reached for comment.

Cinco remains in an Orange County jail without bail.