A murder trial in Stanislaus County has ended in a mistrial after the defense attorney was arrested at the courthouse on suspicion of being under the influence, then failed to appear when proceedings resumed.
Attorney Christopher Loethen was arrested Sept. 16 at the Stanislaus County courthouse in Modesto after his condition raised concerns during the murder trial of Kelley Marie Ball, according to the Modesto Bee. Ball is accused of killing a 12-year-old Modesto girl in a 2020 DUI hit-and-run crash.
Loethen was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on suspicion of public intoxication, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. He was released from jail later that night.
When the trial resumed the following Thursday, Loethen did not show up. Court staff made what were described as “extensive efforts” to reach him by phone and email, without success. A second hearing was set for Friday, with Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Valli Israels leaving him messages that he needed to appear.
Israels also commented on changes in Loethen’s behavior in the period before his arrest.
“It just seemed like there was an aggressiveness about Mr. Loethen, not just towards the court, but in general,” Israels said.
With no attorney in place, Israels removed Loethen from the case and appointed a new defender, Martin Baker, to represent Ball. Baker asked for more time to prepare before the jury was due back Tuesday. Prosecutors objected, but the judge granted the request anyway.
The trial had opened Aug. 25 and was on its seventh day when Israels declared a mistrial without prejudice, meaning prosecutors are free to retry Ball on the charges.
Ball faces counts of murder, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and vandalism. Court records show she had several prior DUI convictions between 1997 and 2007.
She is scheduled to return to court Sept. 24 and remains held on $2.195 million bail.
Loethen’s arrest has also left his own law office without answers. A person reached at the office said she had not spoken with him and had no information about the arrest.
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