Mavrick Fisher murder trial to begin October 21

Mavrick Fisher’s murder trial will begin on October 21 with jury selection. The part with opening statements and the calling of witnesses will take place on the 26th or 27th. The trial could take up to a month. It could be three weeks to a month. 

Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones told “The Daily Moth” that the trial would take place at the Lake County Fairgrounds instead of at the Lake County Superior Court because of the amount of people and Covid-19 restrictions. 

Krones said in addition to the 12-member jury, there would be ten to fifteen witnesses and that the court is anticipating audience members. 

The Lake County Superior Court’s Executive Officer, Krista LeVier, told “The Daily Moth” that there will be ASL interpreters stationed near the front of the courtroom to interpret the proceedings for the audience. She also said there would be Covid-19 precautions such as mandatory social distancing of at least 6 feet, mandatory face coverings, temperature screenings, hand sanitizing station, and extra cleaning/disinfection. She said if a deaf person plans to attend the trial, it would be helpful to notify the court ahead of time. 

What this means is that there may be multiple interpreters — Fisher, for witnesses, and for audience members.

Fisher’s defense attorney, Thomas Feimer, told “The Daily Moth” that the number of interpreters may vary depending on how many deaf witnesses are called. He said as far as he knows, this will be the first jury trial to be held entirely at the fairgrounds. 

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Fisher is accused of using a rock to murder Grant Whitaker, a former business partner, at a campground in Humboldt County and of transporting his body to a ranch in Lake County before fleeing to Mexico, where he was arrested and extradited to Lake County jail. 

Fisher has been in custody at the Lake County Jail since the incident on August 2019. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Fisher said he was acting in self-defense with the rock because Whitaker was trying to attack him with a knife. 

The trial date has been delayed multiple times over the past several months, but it appears that the October 21st date is solid. If Fisher is convicted of premeditated murder (first-degree murder), he faces life in prison. 

If you want to get a sense of what both sides have argued in the case, you can view a video of a preliminary hearing that was held on October 26, 2019. The video is 35 minutes long and the link is in the transcript. 

October 26 preliminary hearing: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailyMoth/videos/479387209317235/