PREVIOUSLY

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A new attorney was appointed this morning for convicted robber Anthony Manuel Burgess, who has been brought back from state prison to face a charge of murder.

Burgess.

This morning Judge Dale Reinholtsen appointed Neal Sanders to represent the 25-year-old Burgess, accused along with Tavin Dee Evans of killing a Eureka girl who was found dead in a motel room on Broadway. Alyssa Claybon, 16, died from a methamphetamine overdose on Feb. 8, 2017.

Sanders was appointed after the Public Defender’s Office declared a conflict in the case.

Evans, 20, is represented by appointed attorney David Celli. Evans has been in Humboldt County Correctional Facility since Christmas Eve, when he was arrested after a high-speed motorcycle chase near Fortuna.

Burgess, a confirmed gang member also known as “Creeper,”  is serving a seven-year prison sentence for robbing a marijuana dealer at gunpoint.

As of now Evans is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday. But this morning Sanders, who was just handed the case file on Burgess, expressed some doubt he could be prepared for a preliminary hearing in a few days.

Defense lawyers and Deputy District Attorney Joel Buckingham, who is prosecuting the men, agreed to an intervention hearing Tuesday afternoon to discuss whether the hearing will proceed Wednesday.

No specifics have been given on how Evans and Burgess were involved in the teen’s death.