FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A seemingly frustrated judge presiding over a murder trial made herself clear on Wednesday, sternly addressing a defense attorney who asked the court for more time and a new trial.
“I want to make sure we are crystal clear,” Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Gaab said. “I will give you additional time, (but) you haven’t set forth anything right now for me to rule on other than your statement.”
At issue is the case of Antoine Caradine.
Earlier this year, a jury convicted the 34-year-old of 2nd-degree murder, saying he was responsible for killing 31-year-old Darnell Johnson last October.
Johnson and Caradine, with about 200 others, were at the Soul Brothers Motorcycle clubhouse in Central Fresno for a party.
In the middle of the night, surveillance cameras captured a back-and-forth shooting that left Johnson dead and two others in the hospital.
“There was never any issue about Mr. Caradine shooting Mr. Johnson,” defense attorney Linden Lindahl told Action News. “But he did shoot him because Mr. Johnson was pulling out a pistol to shoot it himself.”
Three months after the jury returned a guilty verdict, defense attorney Linden Lindahl said he wanted a new trial for his client. In court on Wednesday, he told the judge that witnesses to the shooting are only now willing to testify.
“They know what was said,” Lindahl said of the witnesses. “They know what conduct came through during the minutes preceding the shooting.”
With Caradine facing 40 years to life in prison, Gaab is giving Lindahl three more weeks to file new information with the court.
Action News legal analyst Tony Capozzi says Lindahl has his work cut out for him.
“It’s a major hurdle to get a new trial,” Capozzi said. “You’re going to have to show there was new evidence you were not aware of at the time the trial took place.”
Gaab ordered Caradine back in court on December 21 and said Lindahl must be ready to proceed with the new trial motion on that day, or else she will move forward with sentencing.
