One of the things people often complain about is the time it takes for criminal cases to be resolved, but there is often a lot going on behind the scenes they don't know about.
Take the Victor Lizardi case, for example.
Lizardi was supposed to go to trial Sept. 25 on charges alleging he killed Michael Smith on Aug. 14, 2011.
However, the trial was postponed until February because a witness who initially said he wasn't going to testify for fear of incriminating himself changed his mind at the last minute.Â
A prior interview with the guy was interrupted so defense attorney Sean Bruner asked for the trial to be postponed because he needed to finish their interview.
The interview is considered key since he plans to say the witness is the "likely killer," court documents indicate.
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That isn't the only witness problem that has arisen in the case.
Two weeks before trial, Bruner told Judge Teresa Godoy he still hadn't been able to interview three women who were there when Smith was shot.Â
The women were refusing to come in for an interview so he asked the judge to force them to sit down for depositions so the transcripts could be used if they were no-shows at Lizardi's trial.
The judge granted the motion, but to this day only one of the women has been served her subpoena and been interviewed.
Bruner hopes Judge Godoy will tell prosecutor Mark Diebolt he can't call the other two women to the stand if they still haven't been interviewed by the time of the trial.
According to court documents, the two sisters won't return voice mail messages and ignore the business cards being left on their door.
A defense investigator submitted a report to the judge saying the women's  mother yelled at him when he went by to serve the subpoenas, saying she'd already had one son murdered and didn't want her daughters murdered for testifying. She also slammed her door shut.
By the way, Lizardi was in court this morning for a case management conference in an unrelated murder that took place two days after Smith was shot and killed.
Francisco Pereida, 24, was found mortally wounded near West Mabel Street and North 14th Avenue just after midnight Aug. 16, 2011. Â His car was reported missing and was found abandoned the next day.
Smith was shot Aug. 14, 2011, at an apartment complex in the 3100 block of East Blacklidge Drive, near Country Club and Fort Lowell roads.
Lizardi became a suspect in both cases pretty quickly, but while he was arrested within days of Smith's death, he wasn't arrested in Pereida's death until last month.
The same gun was used in both slayings.
The indictment issued in the Pereida case alleges Lizardi killed him during an armed robbery. No motive has been divulged in the Smith case.
Lizardi will be back in court Nov. 15. We should find out then if he will be offered a plea agreement in the new case or when he'll be going to trial.
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