LAKEPORT, Calif. – The three suspects in a deadly June 18 shooting in Clearlake appeared in court on Friday, at which time the attorneys who will defend them were appointed.
Orlando Joseph Lopez, 23, and Paul William Braden, 21, both of Clearlake Oaks, and Kevin Ray Stone, 29, of Clearlake appeared in Lake County Superior Court's Lakeport division early Friday morning.
They are charged with murder, six counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of mayhem, five counts of attempted murder and numerous special allegations for use of firearms and great bodily injury.
The charges stem from the late-night shooting at a Clearlake home in which 4-year-old Skyler Rapp was killed and five others wounded, including his mother, Desiree Kirby, 22; her boyfriend, Ross Sparks, 25; his brother, Andrew Sparks, 23; Ian Griffith, 19; and Joseph Armijo, 15.
Only Lopez and Braden had originally been scheduled for the appearance to sort out who would represent them, with Stone – who on Thursday was transported to Lake County from Sonoma County where he was arrested last week – set for a July 11 appearance.
However, District Attorney Don Anderson had indicated he wanted to move Stone up in the calendar to join his codefendants, which is what occurred on Friday.
Due to conflicts that arose for attorneys originally appointed to the men's cases, on Friday the issue was deciding who to appoint in order to move the case forward.
Attorney Doug Rhoades, who had been assigned to Lopez, will now handle the defense for Braden, who he previously represented.
Lopez's case now goes to attorney Stephen Carter, and Komnith Moth, who has acted previously as an attorney for Stone, will defend him in this case.
Judge Richard Martin was set to hear the arraignment on Friday, but Lopez invoked his right to a peremptory disqualification under California Code of Civil Procedure Section 170.6, making the request verbally and not in writing at the hearing.
While most requests to disqualify a judge require cause, CCP Section 170.6 allows the defendant to offer no factual basis to a belief that the judge has a bias in their case. A defendant can take the action only once in an entire proceeding.
Martin stepped down and the case went to presiding Judge David Herrick, who handled the remainder of the hearing and scheduled the next court appearance for 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, July 26, before Judge Stephen Hedstrom in Clearlake, Carter said.
At that time, Stone is expected to enter a plea, as he didn't enter a plea on Friday, Carter said. Both Braden and Lopez have already entered not guilty pleas.
Carter said that at the next hearing a date for a preliminary hearing for all three will be set. Braden's previously scheduled Aug. 1 preliminary hearing was vacated on Friday.
Anderson has previously said he was looking at trying all three men together, and while Carter said it appears that might be how the case is handled, that hasn't yet been finally determined.
Rhoades said Friday that since the defense attorneys haven't received all of the case's discovery evidence for review, the preliminary hearing could come as late as early October.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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