Sentinel staff report–
The fatal robbery at a Citrus Heights Rite Aid last November drew attention from around the region as police searched for three suspects who robbed the store and knocked over an 87-year-old woman as they were fleeing the scene. She later died from her injuries.
So are there any new developments in the case?
Michael Wells, investigative services lieutenant for the Citrus Heights Police Department, told The Sentinel last weekend that investigators are “still actively working on leads for the two outstanding subjects.” Police previously announced the arrest of the first suspect, Kimani Eli Randolph, who was arrested in Las Vegas about 10 days after the robbery and is believed to be the one who physically pushed the woman down while fleeing the store.
From December: Citrus Heights police announce arrest of suspect in fatal Rite Aid robbery
According to court records, the 21-year-old suspect was initially slated to have his trial begin next week on July 18, but he will now face trial in September. Although initially not charged with murder, prosecutors have gradually added more severe charges for Randolph — beginning with the addition of a charge for battery “causing serious bodily injury” in January, which was later bumped up to a murder charge in March.
After initially being held on $1 million bail, he is now ineligible for bail with the heightened charges. Online inmate records show he is also charged with felony robbery and burglary.
In an email on Thursday, District Attorney’s Office Spokeswoman Shelly Orio confirmed the trial date for Randolph had been reset to Sept. 18, but did not comment on the reason for the two-month setback in the trial date.
Whatever happened to the idea of a “speedy trial”?
Commenting on court cases in general, Rob Gold, assistant chief deputy district attorney for Sacramento County, previously told The Sentinel in an email that “the pace of a criminal court case is generally dependent on a defendant’s exercise of his speedy trial rights and the availability of his lawyer.”
“While the People also have a constitutional right to a speedy trial, it is the defendant that usually controls how rapid a case proceeds,” he said, noting that defendants in felony cases have the legal right to a preliminary hearing in 10 days and a jury trial in 60 days. More often though, Gold said defendants will waive their speedy trial rights in order to allow their attorney adequate time to prepare their defense and fit the case into the attorney’s existing caseload.
“Serious cases commonly take a year or more from arrest to trial,” he said.
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