Vista

A motion to suppress evidence because detectives entered the scene of a crime without permission was denied Thursday by a Vista Superior Court judge in the case of a woman accused of killing her brother.

Judge Herbert Hoffman ruled against the defense’s contention that evidence dealing with the body, the gun and a tape recording made at the time of the crime was inadmissible because sheriff’s detectives found the evidence before they had permission to search for it.

Hoffman dismissed the motions, saying the evidence, including a 911 emergency tape recording made at the time of the crime, would have been discovered anyway.

Hoffman has set a trial date of May 5 for Evanna Cavanaugh, 48, a former Vista Crime Commission member. She is charged with first-degree murder in the November, 1985, shooting of her brother, Charles Phegley.

Hoffman on Thursday also denied a defense request to exclude the testimony of Detective Robert Fullmer, who had maintained that the detectives did not go into the house until they had received permission from Cavanaugh’s mother. However, a recording made on a microcassette tape player, hidden in Cavanaugh’s purse, revealed that the deputies entered the house shortly after the shooting.

Last month, the San Diego County district attorney concluded that there was insufficient information to file perjury charges against the detectives.

On Thursday, Hoffman declined to rule on another defense motion until the trial date. Citing pretrial publicity, Cavanaugh’s attorney asked the judge to allow potential jurors to be interviewed individually rather than at the same time, as is customary. Hoffman said his inclination was to deny the motion, but he will wait until May 5 to make a decision.