Oakland Triple-Murder Suspect Barred From Trial Over Outbursts
OAKLAND (BCN) -- A judge on Thursday barred a man accused of fatally shooting three in-laws at their Oakland apartment on Thanksgiving Day 2006 from his own trial unless he agrees not to disrupt court proceedings anymore.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vernon Nakahara's order against 47-year-old Asmerom Gebreselassie comes a day after he ruled that Gebreselassie could no longer represent himself for failing to obey the court's instructions and repeatedly acting up in court.
Gebreselassie will only be permitted to return to court if he will no longer disrupt court, Nakahara said.
There wasn't any testimony Thursday in the trial of Gebreselassie and his brother, 43-year-old Tewdoros Gebreselassie, because Tewodros complained of having a fever and pain in his chest and was sent to a doctor.
That means there hasn't been any testimony in the often-delayed case since Tuesday morning, when an outburst by Asmerom Gebreselassie prompted Nakahara to temporarily stop the trial.
Because Monday is a court holiday, the trial isn't scheduled to resume until Tuesday. However, before testimony continues, Nakahara must issue a final ruling on a request by Tewodros to be tried separately from Asmerom.
Nakahara said Thursday that he tentatively plans to deny the request, but he wants to give Tewodros' attorney, Tony Serra, more time to file additional briefs on the matter.
Prior to the start of the trial last week, Serra made several requests to have a separate trial for Tewodros, but they all were denied.
He renewed his request on Wednesday after Nakahara barred Asmerom from representing himself, telling the judge, "Your ruling impacts us like a bombshell."
Asmerom Gebreselassie is now being represented by Oakland defense attorney Darryl Stallworth, a former prosecutor who represented Gebreselassie briefly last year and had been acting as his legal adviser since Gebreselassie was allowed to represent himself.
Stallworth declined to comment on the case Thursday.
Asmerom Gebreselassie is accused of being the shooter and Tewodros
Gebreselassie is accused of being his accomplice in the killing of three of their in-laws at a Keller Plaza apartment complex at 5301 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland around 3 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2006.
Prosecutor Joni Leventis told jurors in her opening statement last week that Asmerom Gebreselassie shot his in-laws because he mistakenly believed that they were responsible for the death of his brother, 42-year-old Abraham Tewolde, at his home in Berkeley on March 1, 2006.
She said Berkeley police didn't find any evidence of foul play in Tewolde's death.
The Gebreselassie brothers, who are being held without bail, are each charged with three counts of murder and two special-circumstance murder clauses: committing multiple murders and committing murder during the course of a kidnapping.
They also face one count each of attempted murder, one count of kidnapping, and two counts of false imprisonment.
The brothers could face life in prison without parole, but not the death penalty, if convicted.
Asmerom Gebreselassie's outburst on Tuesday came after Nakahara denied his request to reopen a line of questioning of an in-law who was testifying about seeing his family members shot to death.
As jurors were being escorted out of the courtroom on Tuesday, Gebreselassie accused Nakahara of being prejudiced against him and working with the prosecution to convict him.
After Nakahara barred Gebreselassie from representing himself on Wednesday, Gebreselassie said, "Take me out (of the courtroom) right now."
The judge agreed, telling bailiffs, "Let's remove him because he won't behave."
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