New Trial Demanded for Athlete Convicted of Murder in Bakersfield

A defense lawyer on Wednesday charged jurors and the prosecutor with misconduct and demanded a new trial for a star high school athlete found guilty of murdering a girl he sometimes dated.

The motion appeared likely to halt Friday’s scheduled sentencing of Offord Rollins IV, last year’s state triple jump champion for Wasco High School. Prosecutor Lisa Green said she would seek a four-week delay to give her time to prepare a response to attorney Timothy Lemucchi’s motion.

Lemucchi offered a declaration from alternate juror Peggy Traylor that members of the panel violated Superior Court Judge Len M. McGillivray’s order not to discuss the case before deliberations. Traylor also said jurors read newspaper accounts and saw or heard broadcast reports about the case during the trial.

The declaration also alleged that some jurors talked about personal experiences they felt contradicted expert testimony. One juror allegedly commented, “All the black witnesses are lying.”

The conviction of Rollins, who is black, brought an outcry from blacks in Kern County who were opposed to the all-white jury.