Prosecutors accuse Rector attorney of delaying trial
BY JIM SECKLER
The Mohave Valley Daily News
KINGMAN — The prosecutor in the Justin Rector murder case fired back Tuesday against claims that he has not disclosed information to the defense.
Rector, 30, is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, child abuse and abandonment of a dead body in the 2014 death of 8-year-old Isabella Grogan-Cannella.
Rector also is charged with three counts of aggravated assault after he allegedly assaulted a detention officer July 17, 2017, in his jail cell. He is being held without bond.
Deputy Mohave County Attorney Greg McPhillips filed a response arguing that Rector’s attorney, Julia Cassels, of Phoenix, is delaying Rector’s trial. She is the fourth primary attorney to represent Rector in the 4-year-old case.
McPhillips took the death penalty off the table in February, which allowed the primary attorney, Quinn Jolly, to withdraw from the case. Cassels, who had been second chair, was assigned to the case in July 2016. Rector has had about a half-dozen attorneys since his arrest.
In his motion, McPhillips said he has released Rector’s cell phone records and the medical examiner’s report and cassettes on several occasions since 2014 to Cassels and prior attorneys. He also said Cassels has filed motions to delay the setting of witness interviews.
“Years of delay have been enough,” McPhillips said.
Rector’s next hearing before Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen is set for Sept. 7.
Cassels recently filed a motion seeking the disclosure of more evidence, including items seized by the Bullhead City Police Department and FBI. She also wants any photographs and items taken from a dumpster at the T-Mobile store on Highway 95.
Cassels also asked McPhillips to disclose information on the seizure of electronic devices in the investigation of drug cases against Grogan-Cannella’s parents, Tania Grogan and Ralph Folster III. She also countered McPhillips’ claim that she has not provided dates to set up interviews, providing him dates in August and September.
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/news/...4e8d4a2fd.html
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