Possible Move of Salcido to UCI Is Questioned
A prosecutor has raised security concerns over the proposed temporary transfer to UC Irvine of Ramon Salcido, charged in the wine country slayings of seven people. Salcido’s attorney wants the transfer so a brain scan can be conducted.
Sonoma County Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Bumerts filed a motion in Superior Court alleging that the experimental brain scan, called Positron Emission Tomography, has not been accepted as a court standard.
“We just want to make sure that for such a security risk there is a real reason for this to occur,” Bumerts said. A hearing has been set for Tuesday before Judge R. Bryan Jamar.
Public Defender Marteen Miller said such a test is “critically important in saving (Salcido’s) life.”
Salcido, 28, could face the death penalty if convicted of the April 14 killing rampage, which resulted in the deaths of his wife, two of his three daughters, other relatives and a co-worker.
A preliminary brain test has indicated that Salcido has a right temple lobe disturbance, Miller said, although he did not elaborate on that condition.
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