Mercedes Carrera and husband Daemon Cins appeared in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Friday morning, expecting a pre-trial hearing in a case in which they face multiple allegations of sexual abuse against a nine-year-old girl.
But after attorney Nicola Fitzgerald, representing Cins, showed up in Judge Katrina West’s Rancho Cucamonga courtroom at the last moment, and the two defendants conferred separately with their attorneys for about 15 minutes, the judge told the two lawyers that she assumed they were not ready to present their arguments.
Both Fitzgerald and Carrera’s lawyer, Joshua Castro, agreed. They requested that the pre-trial hearing be postponed—for the fourth consecutive time. The hearing had originally been scheduled for September 13, 2019. At that time, it was pushed to October 25, and then to December 6.
At the court appearance in December, Carrera and Cins saw their hearing delayed again to February 14.
On Friday, the lawyers asked Judge West to set yet another new date of April 15. But prosecutor Brianne Durose spoke up and said that she would not be available on that date.
Finally, all of the parties agreed on May 1, 2020, as the new date when they would at least try to get the pre-trial hearing in. Carrera and Cins were arrested on February 1 of last year and have been behind bars ever since. They deny the charges and have entered not guilty pleas, but were unable to meet the bail amount of $2 million each.
Carrera and Cins face one charge each of “Sexual Intercourse/Sodomy with child 10 years old or younger,” as well as seven charges of “Sexual Penetration/Oral Copulation” with the same child, whom Carrera has earlier acknowledged to be her daughter.
If a trial takes place in the case, Carrera and Cins will face a jury sometime within 60 days after May 1—if their hearing is not postponed a fifth time.
The attorneys for the pair hustled out of the courtroom Friday without commenting on the latest delay.
