Lawyer to seek dismissal of murder charge in Preston shooting, since trial can't be scheduled
Since a state Superior Court judge said she would not be able to schedule a murder trial anytime soon for Francis L. Giannelli, his attorney said Wednesday that he would seek to have the charges dismissed.
Giannelli, 26, is charged with emptying his .380 caliber pistol into a pickup truck in Preston on Oct. 26, 2019, killing passenger Robert Thompson, after an earlier altercation at Mohegan Sun. State police said Giannelli confessed to the crime.
Like others who are in prison awaiting trial, Giannelli has been frustrated by the delays resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. During a court appearance Wednesday, his attorney, Kevin C. Barrs, argued that Giannelli, who was arrested on Oct. 27, 2019, is eligible for a speedy trial, having been held in lieu of $1 million bond for more than eight months.
"It is inconceivable that individuals can frequent restaurants, amusement parks, bowling alleys and movie theaters, albeit with restrictions, and engage in other inessential recreational and social activities, but a criminal defendant, who is presumed innocent, can be deprived of his liberty, and his constitutional right to a speedy trial, in the name of a public health emergency that has substantially subsided in Connecticut," Barrs wrote in the motion for a speedy trial.
Judge Hillary B. Strackbein told Giannelli she should could not schedule a trial for him right now but would do so as soon as possible.
Court officials have said murder trials, which require 12 jurors and several alternates to hear cases involving multiple witnesses and items of evidence, would be especially difficult given the current requirements for masks and social distancing.
Federal courts also have suspended trials, but last month Chief United States District Judge for Connecticut, Stephan, R. Underhill, issued a memo indicating civil trials would resume Sept. 1, with shorter cases given priority, and criminal trials could begin after Nov. 2.
Barrs said he would be seeking a dismissal of the charges against Giannelli next month, since the law requires a speedy trial to start within 30 days of a motion for a speedy trial. In his written motion, Barrs said another remedy would be to release Giannelli from prison while he awaits his eventual trial.
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