New jury trial date set for man, charged with teen’s murder

A Solano County Superior Court judge once again has rescheduled a jury trial date for a 24-year-old Vallejo man who allegedly shot and killed a Vallejo high school student nearly six years ago.

Zachery Allen Kroll was scheduled to appear Friday for a trial readiness conference in Department 5, in advance of an April 13 jury trial, but Judge Stephanie Grogan Jones has reshuffled the defendant’s court appearances, likely in part because of the ongoing pandemic and reduced court operations.

Court records indicate that, at some recent point, Jones newly reset a trial readiness conference for 8:30 a.m. April 13; a trial management conference at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 19; and a jury trial for 9 a.m. Nov. 30 in the Justice Center in Fairfield.

Kroll, who is being defended by criminal defense attorney Vincent Maher, is charged with the May 14, 2015, murder of Kenneth Maxwell “Max” Rusk, 17, of Vallejo, a Jesse Bethel High student who was fatally shot on a trail near the 1800 Ascot Parkway campus.

Also initially charged in the case was Elisha Marcel White Jr., who was 16 at the time of the shooting. He was charged as an adult, but the case against him was dismissed on Nov. 1, 2017, court records indicate.

Also charged at the time was Austin Leandro Lonzanida, accused of a robbery along with Kroll. The robbery, also at the high school, happened a few days before the killing. Court records indicate probation for Lonzanida was reinstated early last year.

Kroll has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held at the Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield on a $1.5 million bond.

Vallejo police arrested Kroll and White the day after the shooting.

Although police said Rusk and Kroll knew each other, Rusk’s mother and girlfriend said they did not recognize the suspects.

The Rusk family in 2018 settled a lawsuit filed in 2016 against the Vallejo City Unified School District, with $350,000 payable to the estate of their son.

If found guilty at trial, Kroll faces 25 years to life in prison, plus more time for using a firearm, among other circumstances.