Pre-trial conferences resulted in no trial dates being set in cases involving two men accused of involuntary manslaughter.
The conferences were held Friday afternoon in Lyon County District Court, before District Judge Jeffry J. Larson.
Larson had offered Aug. 11, Sept. 2 and Sept. 8 as optional dates for a two-day trial for Ferman Hernandez, 31, who is accused in the accidental shooting death of Alfonso Barajas, 50, on March 21 outside a home in the 1400 block of East Logan Avenue.
Hernandez also was charged with hunting without completing a hunter education course.
According to an affidavit filed in the case, a small group of people were having a fish fry outside the home. Barajas had bent over a table to clean a wild rabbit that had been shot and apparently straightened up as Hernandez shot at birds immediately east of the group. Barajas accidentally was struck by the bullet.
Assistant Lyon County Attorney Amy Aranda said she was concerned whether two days would be enough time to try the case.
“I know that we’ll have at least five witnesses that are solely Spanish-speaking that need interpreters,” Aranda said.
Defense attorney Don C. Krueger agreed, on the grounds that jury selection could be prolonged. He requested that three or four days be set aside for the trial.
Larson will look for openings in his calendar that match that criteria and set a trial date later, after attorneys agree on the dates offered.
Defense attorney William Rork of Topeka asked for additional time in seeking expert witnesses before setting a trial date for Bruce Vanderman of Madison.
Vanderman was charged with involuntary manslaughter, or alternative charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated battery, in connection with the death of Jerry L. Williams, 52, of Emporia. The charge resulted from a two-vehicle, head-on crash on April 13, 2007.
Vanderman was attempting to pass a semi-tractor trailer when his pickup truck struck Williams’ pickup truck head-on.
Williams died of his injuries and a passenger in Vanderman’s pickup, Joshua Vanderman, then 11, of Madison, was taken by ambulance to Newman Regional Health.
A Kansas Highway Patrol report of the accident stated that limited visibility caused by dusty road conditions contributed to the accident.
Vanderman’s trial date will be set on June 27, Assistant Lyon County Attorney Rick Buck said.
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