Killer to wait for sentence

A Compton man’s sentencing for killing a Costa Mesa man in a 2006 drive-by shooting was delayed until mid-August Friday, when defense attorneys said they plan to file a motion for a new trial.

Joshua Blount, 24, faces life in prison without parole for fatally shooting 23-year-old Israel Maciel and wounding four of his friends Aug. 2, 2006, in an alley in the 1300 block of Baker Street. Blount faces life in prison without parole because he was convicted of the special circumstance of the killing happening in a drive-by shooting.

Blount’s attorney, Barry Bernstein, filed a motion July 10 to delay the sentencing, court records show. But when Judge Daniel McNerney sat on the bench Friday morning, he had yet to see it because of a mix-up in paperwork. On top of that, Bernstein wasn’t in court to answer questions why he was seeking a delay in the first place.

Bernstein was in Santa Barbara for another trial, his replacement told McNerney, but he plans to file a motion requesting a new trial within two weeks, and that’s why he needed to delay.

“I’m not sure what Mr. Bernstein will or will not do,” McNerney told attorneys. “Mr. Bernstein’s not here to answer, or to say where he is.”

During recess, attorneys from both sides met with McNerney in his chambers and spoke with Bernstein over a conference call. Bernstein, McNerney said, is waiting on full transcripts from the jury trial, which ended in early June. Bernstein’s grounds for a new trial are apparently within the transcripts of Blount’s two-week trial.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Matt Murphy played down any possibility of Blount going before another 12 jurors.

“[Motions for new trials] are filed all the time,” Murphy said. “The trial was very clean. The judge did a great job.”

For Maciel’s friends and family in the courtroom waiting to persuade McNerney to give the harshest sentence possible, it was a disappointment. Maciel’s family would be afforded a chance to address McNerney and argue that Maciel’s slaying warrants a life sentence for Blount. Family and friends arrived prepared to speak, with folders filled with pictures of him as a child.

“I recognize many of you are here today with interests on both sides. It is my regret we will not proceed with sentencing this morning,” McNerney told Maciel’s and Blount’s families.

Blount will almost certainly be sentenced Aug. 15. McNerney told the defense he will rule on all further motions by that date, and if they have not been filed by then, it will be too late and Blount will be sentenced.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].