Mavrick Fisher murder case update
Mavrick Fisher murder case update
On Tuesday afternoon, deaf man Mavrick Fisher, who is charged with murdering deaf man Grant Whitaker in northern California, appeared before a Lake County judge for a pretrial conference.
Daily Moth reporter Callie Frye was able to attend the hearing in Lakeport and she described what happened in a call with me last night.
CALLIE FRYE:
I saw Mavrick seated among other prisoners in the jury seating area. I observed the room and it was interesting that the two interpreters did not interpret for other prisoners’ cases before the judge. The interpreters were seated and Mavrick was staring into space, passing the time. He did glance often at his mother and tried to communicate with her, but they knew they couldn’t talk with each other because it would violate the law if someone in the audience was to talk with a prisoner. Mavrick and his mother looked at each other often. I arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon, but waited until it was almost 4:00 pm. It was at the last part, at 3:45 pm, when it was finally Mavrick’s turn. He left to meet with his lawyer and interpreter twice -- they left the room and came back in, then left and came back again. They were confidential meetings with his lawyer. There was a long break of about 45 minutes in which the district attorney and Mavrick’s lawyer had a private meeting. The spectators had to wait. There was another 15-minute break where the lawyer, Mavrick, and his interpreter had a meeting. That was the second meeting. After all of us got back to the courtroom, Mavrick was visibly crying and wiping away his tears. I wondered what happened, but the discussions were private. Then Mavrick was called to approach. The district attorney asked for a postponement, but the defense lawyer said “no.” The district attorney said she needed more phone evidence and records from Grant’s phone. They needed more time to examine it. The defense lawyer explained to the judge that Mavrick was suffering isolation in jail and had emotional distress because of his disability and communication difficulties. He said Mavrick was lonely. The judge agreed and approved a postponement of the pretrial conference so the district attorney can have more time to gather additional evidence. It was postponed to February 24 at 1:30 in the afternoon. But the trial was not postponed, the date of March 11 will stay the same. After the hearing, I talked with Mavrick’s mother and asked her if she had any comments. She said she was touched by Mavrick’s incident and said it was because of self-defense. I asked if she wanted to share anything more. She said the trial was to happen on March 11. She said that Mavrick does suffer in jail from loneliness and isolation. That’s it. Mavrick’s mother said she wanted to stay behind to talk with the defense lawyer and I left. That’s all.
No, there was no barrier set up. I could see everything when Mavrick appeared before the judge. I could see the interpreter standing up between the judge and Mavrick. There was another interpreter seated between Mavrick and his defense lawyer. It was easy and clear to see everything. There were no CDIs.
ALEX:
Thank you Callie for your time to attend the hearing and for the report.
So, we see that there is no settlement — no deal of a reduced sentence for a guilty plea.
TEXT: Clarification: Mavrick Fisher pleaded not guilty to premediated murder and other charges. He accused Grant of trying to stab him and said the killing was done in self-defense.
The trial date is still scheduled for March 11 with another pretrial conference on February 24.
I reached out to the Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones and asked her if she could provide additional information.
Krones told me that yesterday was a “trial readiness conference” and that it was to determine if they were ready for trial. The district attorney said she proposed the trial to be postponed to May but that Mavrick did not want to postpone, so it is still set for March 11.
Krones said there would be further discussion on the February 24 “trial readiness conference” and there might be more discussion about whether or not the trial will start on March 11 or be postponed.
I asked Krones if there have been discussions with Mavrick’s lawyer about a settlement. She said there have been discussions, but that there have been no offers but that there will be more discussions before February 24.
Krones confirmed that she is waiting for phone data from various phones and will turn that in for the discovery process for the defense to have access to it. She also said there are a few other investigation areas that are ongoing so she wants to make sure she has all that done before the trial begins.
I also reached out to Mavrick’s defense attorney for comment, but did not get an immediate response.
Now, about the phone data that both Callie and DA Krones mentioned, it is possible that it has to do with a phone that was found in Grant’s grandmother’s car that he was driving in California.
The car was found abandoned by police near a Dollar General store at Clearlake Oaks after Mavrick had already fled to Mexico. Mavrick used the car to transport Grant’s body after the alleged murder on August 20. The car was found on August 24. Grant’s body was found a short time later at a ranch where the two worked.
Here is a clip from the preliminary hearing in October.
DETECTIVE RICHARD KREUTZER, via interpreter:
At that time the focus was to retrieve the cell phone. Someone told me that there was a phone.
DA KRONES, via interpreter:
Where did you find the phone?
DETECTIVE KREUTZER:
I found it in the glove box compartment.
DA KRONES:
Did you figure out who owned the phone?
DETECTIVE KREUTZER:
I am sorry, I couldn’t. The iPhone was locked. The sheriff’s office doesn’t have the technology to bypass Apple’s operating system and security.
ALEX:
So, we see that there is still additional evidence that the DA’s office is seeking.
Mavrick is charged with premediated murder, assault with a deadly weapon (a rock) with a special allegation of inflicting great bodily harm, removing and keeping possession of a car (that I just mentioned) from a dead body, and grand theft auto. He faces a maximum of life in penalty if convicted on the premediated murder charge. California has suspended capital punishment so there is no death penalty, only life in prison.
That is all the updates I have for now.
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