LAKEPORT, Calif. – A line of questioning on Thursday morning has led to the potential for mistrial in the trial of two young Clearlake Oaks men for the shooting last summer that killed a child and wounded five others.

Orlando Joseph Lopez, 24, and Paul William Braden, 22, are on trial for the June 18, 2011, shooting in Clearlake that killed 4-year-old Skyler Rapp, wounded the child’s mother and her boyfriend, and three other family members and friends.

The trial, in which testimony began in late February, came to a halt during the morning session as District Attorney Don Anderson was questioning Sgt. Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department.

Anderson asked Celli to relate a statement Lopez had reportedly made to Celli claiming innocence but alleging that Braden was at the scene, incriminating his codefendant.

Braden's attorney, Doug Rhoades, objected, and Lopez's attorney, Stephen Carter, joined the objection.

Visiting Yolo County Judge Doris Shockley sustained the objections.

Shockley then excused the jury for the morning.

The attorneys, along with Braden and Lopez, returned after lunch for a hearing on what happens next.

The questioning appeared to violate pretrial agreements between the defense and prosecution, as well as case law evolving from People v. Aranda, a 1965 case that has given rise to protections for codefendants, and the 1968 case Bruton v. United States.

Based on case law, if two or more defendants are being charged and tried jointly in a case, statements by a codefendant to investigators or witnesses which place blame on the other codefendant are not allowed to be presented in court.

If such statements are presented, they must be redacted to remove prejudice to the codefendant. However, if there is no way to do that, then mistrial is the only other alternative.

As a result of the afternoon hearing, Rhoades and Carter are to submit their mistrial motions by Monday, April 30, with Anderson's response due Tuesday, May 1. Shockley scheduled a hearing on the mistrial motions for 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.

Shockley then called in the two juries, told them, “You may not be surprised” to hear issues have come up as they have done so in the past, and offering no other details excused them for the remainder of the week, ordering them to return at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 2.

The attorneys in the case said they will be prepared to offer comment after the proceedings next week.

This is the second time that the possibility of mistrial has arisen in the proceedings.

On April 5, Carter had moved for mistrial, alleging that Anderson had abused him while making an objection.

The defense and prosecution later reached agreement to having an admonishment read to the jury ordering jurors to ignore extraneous comments by the attorneys during questioning.

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