GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.-
A Mesa County district judge rejected a second request Monday for a mistrial in the case of a man accused of murder and other charges.
Christopher Wieberg, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder and aggravated robbery in the October 25, 2005 slaying of Thomas Martinez.
Martinez, 28, was found shot to death in his Fruitvale apartment. Prosecutors have said Wieberg shot Martinez over a $600 drug debt that Martinez allegedly owed.
Ed Nugent, one of Wieberg’s defense attorneys, had claimed in court that Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger and Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Rubenstein violated discovery rules, which require the prosecution to share all information with the defense. Nugent and fellow defense attorney Leslie Castro said prosecutors had intentionally tried to withhold information.
Flynn acknowledged Monday, outside of the jurors’ presence, that a discovery violation had occurred, but withheld penalties—including a mistrial declaration.
A former jail inmate, Lee Veler, had testified he was not told he would receive consideration in his criminal case in exchange for handing over a letter Wieberg gave him. But David Rowe, an investigator, testified regarding a different version of events, saying that he would tell Hautzinger about Veler’s assistance, and let officials in the district attorney’s office decide whether to reduce his bond.
Veler posted bond before the matter was addressed.
