This morning, Judge Erick L. Larsh continued the pre-trial hearings of two Fullerton officers facing charges in the beating death of Kelly Thomas.
Last time Officer Manuel Ramos showed up at the Central Justice Center he wore a yellow jumpsuit and handcuffs and sat behind a metal, mesh wall. Today, however, he and fellow officer Jay Cicinelli wore suits and walked into the courtroom through the same door as everyone else.
John Barnett, Ramos' attorney, wasn't in court today, but his son Case Barnett stood in for him and for Michael Schwartz, Cicinelli's attorney. Barnett asked Larsh to continue the pre-trail hearing until Dec. 16 and Senior Assistant DA Jim Tanizaki agreed. So, Ramos, who is facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, and Cicinelli, who faces manslaughter and excessive use of force charges, will show up at the court, again, on Dec. 16 at 8:30 a.m.
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Ron Thomas, Kelly's father, says he completely trusts the DA's office, but that he will do his best to make sure there aren't too many other continuations as the case makes its way through the system. “We allowed it to be continued today, after that we're gonna put our foot down…I think defense is gonna string it out.”
Thomas, who sat only a few yards away from Ramos and Cicinelli, said it was very hard to maintain composure in the courtroom this morning.
“They're going about business as usual and I don't like that at all,” Thomas said. “Seeing them right beside me was tough.” As his eyes filled with tears, Thomas said, “It is what it is. I am a grieving dad. I want to kill them both. Am I gonna do that? No. But, my son was crying to me to save him from those two.”
