FRENSO, Calif. (KFSN) — On Tuesday, the public is one step closer to learning more about the killing of Caleb Quick.
Attorneys saying they’re ready to move forward with a high-stakes hearing to determine if the female suspect should be tried as an adult, scheduling it for March 9th…
“We’ve already cleared that date with our expert. Hopefully, the prosecution’s expert will be available on that date,” says defense attorney Jeff Hammerschmidt, who represents the girl, whom Action News is not naming.
Investigators say she was the getaway driver after her boyfriend allegedly shot Quick at a Clovis McDonald’s in April.
The two have denied murder charges.
Caleb’s father, Steve, tells Action News he’s now fighting through the holidays as he remembers his son, “Yeah, pretty much missing him a whole bunch.”
He wants Caleb’s alleged killers tried as adults. “They had every opportunity to abandon this little plan that they had and not murder someone, and they chose to go through with it.”
We’re now learning how the transfer hearing could play out:
It will happen at the main courthouse downtown.
One of five judges there will be designated to hear juvenile cases will preside.
Attorneys expect the entire hearing to last five days, with the young suspect transferred each morning from juvenile hall to the courtroom.
The juvenile process focuses on rehabilitation and in this case, could only last 7 years but a murder conviction in adult court could bring a life sentence in state prison.
The burden will be on prosecutors to prove that adult punishment is more appropriate.
The defense will call its own witnesses.
“We will have our expert testify, and depending on how the evidence goes, we may have certain other witnesses, more as rebuttal witnesses, testify,” Hammerschmidt says.
As attorneys make their case, Steve will be there, too.
Action News asked Quick if the trial would bring him any closure. “It’ll provide just information. Closure? Nothing’s going to close my son away from me. I’m going to keep fighting for justice for him,” Quick said.
Steve Quick tells me it “feels good to finally get the ball rolling” here.
As for the male suspect in this case, his transfer hearing could be set in the new year.
