Former Mount Shasta City Council member Katrina Howard and her co-defendant, 20 year old Jules Unger, appeared in a Yreka courtroom Feb. 25 for a pre-trial hearing, during which Judge Roger Kosel set April 15 as the date for their Preliminary Hearing.
Howard, 40, faces felony drug charges stemming from an undercover operation in the Mount Shasta area. She was arrested in January and subsequently pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of marijuana for sale with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm, maintaining a place where marijuana is processed and sold, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Howard resigned from her position on the Mount Shasta City Council on Feb. 4.
On Apr. 15, Judge Kosel will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the charges against Howard and Unger, said Assistant District Attorney Christine Winte. Kosel will listen to arguments from the state as well as Howard’s attorney John Lawrence and Unger’s attorney Michael Wells.
“The judge will be looking for probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendants are responsible,” Winte said.
The state may call witnesses to testify and can introduce physical evidence gathered by the Siskiyou County-Wide Interagency Narcotics Task Force to convince Kosel that the case should go to trial. The defense usually cross-examines the DA’s witnesses and calls into question the evidence presented, seeking to convince the judge that the prosecutor’s case is not strong enough.
Following the Preliminary Hearing, if the defense is not successful in forcing the case to be dropped, the process continues to the information stage. A True Bill of Indictment would then be presented, which explains the exact charges being brought against the defendants.
Howard and Unger may then request a Pre-Trial Hearing, which is an appointment between the state and the defense to see if a resolution can be made. If there is no deal struck at that time, the case will go to trial.
At this time, it is unknown whether Winte will be the lead prosecutor on the case, or if the new Taskforce attorney, Martha Aker, will be taking over the responsibility, Winte said.
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Former Mount Shasta City Council member Katrina Howard and her co-defendant, 20 year old Jules Unger, appeared in a Yreka courtroom Feb. 25 for a pre-trial hearing, during which Judge Roger Kosel set April 15 as the date for their Preliminary Hearing.
Howard, 40, faces felony drug charges stemming from an undercover operation in the Mount Shasta area. She was arrested in January and subsequently pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of marijuana for sale with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm, maintaining a place where marijuana is processed and sold, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Howard resigned from her position on the Mount Shasta City Council on Feb. 4.
On Apr. 15, Judge Kosel will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the charges against Howard and Unger, said Assistant District Attorney Christine Winte. Kosel will listen to arguments from the state as well as Howard’s attorney John Lawrence and Unger’s attorney Michael Wells.
“The judge will be looking for probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendants are responsible,” Winte said.
The state may call witnesses to testify and can introduce physical evidence gathered by the Siskiyou County-Wide Interagency Narcotics Task Force to convince Kosel that the case should go to trial. The defense usually cross-examines the DA’s witnesses and calls into question the evidence presented, seeking to convince the judge that the prosecutor’s case is not strong enough.
Following the Preliminary Hearing, if the defense is not successful in forcing the case to be dropped, the process continues to the information stage. A True Bill of Indictment would then be presented, which explains the exact charges being brought against the defendants.
Howard and Unger may then request a Pre-Trial Hearing, which is an appointment between the state and the defense to see if a resolution can be made. If there is no deal struck at that time, the case will go to trial.
At this time, it is unknown whether Winte will be the lead prosecutor on the case, or if the new Taskforce attorney, Martha Aker, will be taking over the responsibility, Winte said.
