Mitchell.

Fode.

Valenzuela.

Thomson.





Four defendants accused of killing a Eureka man in December are scheduled for trial this fall on charges of murder and carjacking.

This morning Judge Christopher Wilson set a Nov. 6 trial date for Brandon James Mitchell, 21, Catherine Lynn Suzanne Fode, 19, Cesar Octavio Valenzuela, 23, and Tamara Nicole Thomson, 19. All are charged with the Dec. 12 slaying of 20-year-old Tyson Eduardo Claros, who was shot four times and left to die on State Highway 255 near Manila.

The criminal case has been suspended against Fode’s boyfriend Hector Godoy-Standley, who is also charged in the killing but has been diagnosed as developmentally disabled. Godoy-Standley, 21, was not in court today with the other defendants.

Wilson set a trial confirmation hearing for Oct. 18, and motions will be argued Sept. 20. As of now Thomson and Valenzuela, who were arrested first and implicated the other three, have a separate criminal case from Fode and Mitchell. The District Attorney’s Office is seeking to have the cases joined for trial.

Mitchell is accused of being the shooter, allegedly because he believed Claros had molested he and Fode’s 3-year-old daughter. That allegation was investigated but never charged.

Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Schaffer is prosecuting the case, which she recently took over after the previous prosecutor left to work for the Public Defender’s Office.
Defense attorneys are Neal Sanders for Fode, David Nims for Thomson, Deputy Public Defender Casey Russo for Valenzuela and Deputy Conflict Counsel Kaleb Cockrum for Mitchell.

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