Candidate’s attempted murder case may resolve
A plea deal is in the works for a former Humboldt County Board of Supervisor’s candidate accused of assaulting his neighbor with a machete during the past year.
Deputy Public Defender Ben McLaughlin said Richard French, 76, of Hydesville, who is accused of assaulting his neighbor with a machete on April 30, 2020, was “prepared to enter an open plea.” An open guilty or no-contest plea allows attorneys to argue what sentence would be appropriate for the defendant before a judge, who would make the sentencing decision, rather than taking the case to trial or reaching a plea deal.
That would allow for Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees to argue for prison time for the assault with a deadly weapon charge, McLaughlin said, adding French might also be willing to admit to using a deadly weapon, which could result in an additional year in his sentence. French is also facing an attempted murder charge that the District Attorney’s Office added after the preliminary hearing and further investigation.
“I know that would resolve things on our end,” McLaughlin said. “If it’s not going to resolve things on the people’s end, then what I would do is withdraw the time waiver and ask that it be set” for trial.
Rees said he couldn’t accept the enhancement if the defense’s offer was to an open guilty plea for the assault with a deadly weapon charge.
“We will reach out to the victim now that you made that offer, discuss that with the victim in order to comply with Marsy’s law,” Rees said, referring to the law requiring victims to be notified about court goings-on related to their case.
Judge Christopher Wilson set the case for trial upon the attorney’s request in case the victim did not agree to the plea and wanted to proceed to trial.
French’s jury trial is set for 9:15 a.m. April 19 with a trial confirmation set for 8:30 a.m. April 6. A pre-trial hearing was also set for 8:30 a.m. March 16.