VAN NUYS : Murder Charges Refiled in Fatal Robbery Attempt
Challenging a ruling by a municipal court judge, prosecutors have refiled murder charges against two alleged accomplices of a former Glendale High School football star killed by a sheriff’s deputy in a foiled robbery.
Ian Jerde, 19, and Abel Tianti Cason, 18, were arraigned Monday in Van Nuys Superior Court on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. Both charges are in connection with the Nov. 13 shooting of Shawn Cole, 17, by off-duty Deputy Robert Carr.
Under state law, all participants in a crime that causes a death, even the death of an accomplice, can be tried for murder. Following a preliminary hearing in December, Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers ruled that the facts presented did not justify bringing Jerde and Cason to trial on murder charges. Silvers ruled that the two should be tried only for conspiracy to commit robbery.
However, when a case reaches the trial level at Superior Court, prosecutors have the legal authority to refile charges and challenge such a ruling by a Municipal Court judge.
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