RICO defendant asks court to halt construction of police training center

Lawyers cite need to gather evidence at site.

A motion filed Friday in Fulton County Superior Court asks for the ongoing construction of Atlanta’s public safety training center to be halted.

Filed on behalf of James Mariscano, who was arrested along with many of his co-defendants after a music festival turned violent near the construction site on March 5, 2023, the motion says ongoing construction could destroy “potentially exculpatory evidence.” Defense attorneys also want to inspect the site, according to the motion.

The facility is expected to completed by the end of the year.

The motion argues that the construction site is heavily guarded by law enforcement, which makes it “impossible” for defense attorneys to visit the forest or the alleged crime scene and conduct their own investigation.

Mariscano’s attorney, Xavier Torres de Janon, wrote in the motion that the state has provided maps, surveillance footage and photographs of the area, but that is “insufficient” for the needs of the defense, which requires a physical evaluation of the site.

According to the motion, defense attorneys asked the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, to schedule a site visit back in January.

The motion states that lead prosecutor John Fowler scheduled a site visit for March 7, 2024, but the visit was canceled early last week. In the motion, Torres de Janon argues that a March visit to the site is “ideal and unique” because it provides the most similar conditions to the ones on the day the arrests occurred on March 5, 2023.

“A later site visit would not allow Defendants to evaluate comparable site conditions, which are essential in a case where the State has placed muddy and wet clothing at issue,” the motion reads.

The motion asks Judge Kimberly Adams to halt construction until defense attorneys have a chance to inspect the site, order the AG’s office to schedule a time for a site visit and grant a continuance of deadlines set by Adams. No hearing has been scheduled.

During the November arraignment hearing, Adams ordered all motions to be filed by March 15, 2024, with final pleas expected to take place by the end of June. Adams told defendants that she won’t accept any negotiated pleas after June 30, 2024.

The judges also ordered all evidence to be turned over to defense counsel by Dec. 31, 2023. A separate motion filed by Torres de Janon last month argues the attorney general’s office has continued to provide discovery past the deadline and asked for all the discovery provided after Dec. 31 to be excluded.

Prosecutor Fowler told Adams in November the state had about 5 terabytes of discovery data for the case

The indictment was filed in Fulton County by the AG’s office in August. It charges 61 defendants with violating the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations act, while some face additional charges of domestic terrorism, arson and money laundering. Most are not from Georgia.

Defendant Ayla King was set to be the first defendant to go to trial in January, after filing a speedy trial demand. But that trial was delayed after King’s attorney announced his intention to appeal a ruling denying a motion to dismiss the case on grounds that the defendant’s speedy trial demand was not met.

Attempts to halt construction of the facility have been unsuccessful, with a federal court denying the latest effort in January.