W.C., is that you?
Posted on 09/19/2026 5:45:29 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A six-year-old California murder case ended in a mistrial after the defendant’s attorney was arrested at the courthouse on suspicion of being under the influence, according to The Modesto Bee.
The unusual series of events unfolded this week in Stanislaus County Superior Court, where Kelley Marie Ball was on trial in connection with a 2020 crash that killed a 12-year-old girl in Modesto.
Ball’s appointed attorney, Christopher Loethen, 50, was arrested Wednesday after concerns were raised about his condition while he was in court, The Bee reported.
Loethen was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance and public intoxication, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities had not determined what substance Loethen may have possessed as of Wednesday.
The trial did not resume after his arrest.
Although the court understood Loethen had been released from jail around 11 p.m. Wednesday, he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing Thursday morning. Court staff repeatedly tried to reach him by phone and email but received no response, The Bee reported.
A judge ordered Loethen to appear again Friday morning, but he did not show up or contact the court.
Superior Court Judge Valli Israels ultimately removed Loethen from the case and appointed attorney Martin Baker to represent Ball.
Baker told the judge he could not adequately prepare for the complex murder case before jurors were scheduled to return Tuesday and requested a mistrial. Ball agreed to the request.
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
I tried to get my attorney to do this since I’d get a mistrial. Just my luck, he didn’t do drugs and was a teetolaer. Never trust a man who doesn’t drink.
Get a liberal woman instead. Sex her up...then get a mistrial for inproper relationship.
Why post a link to a story about the story rather than posting a link to the source story itself?
https://www.modbee.com/news/local/crime/article317273201.html
Drug use should be legal. Not hurting anyone.
Truckers too.
Never have mom as your defense attorney. Not good.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Zangara for reference.
W.C., is that you?
They got a clue when he referred to the crash that killed a 12-year-old girl in Moscato.
“Harshan Samra and Zynal Aziz”
.
Where does California find these people?
Water seeks its own level
Drug use IS legal...under the right conditions, such as under a doctor’s prescription. Just simply making drugs legal under any conditions is rather an open-ended statement.
I'd be drinking if I lived in a hellhole like California!!!
The bottle is mightier then the quiver
WCF
The local rag calls themselves “the bee”? Have they not heard of the Babylon Bee?
No, no, no, our summercamp for the kiddies is named Auschwitz ‘cause that is the name of the donor. Nothing whatsoever to do with Hitler’s final solution. It is perfectly safe, just show us your heritage back to your greatgrandparents to be sure.
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