CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A judge has refused to move the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting two 18-year-olds in a vehicle in a Cedar Rapids business parking lot.
Andre Richardson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the May 18 slayings of Matrell Johnson and Royal Abram. Two others also were hit by bullets in the parked vehicle at the Iowa Smoke Shop in Cedar Rapids, police have said.
Richardson’s lawyer said at an Oct. 25 hearing that extensive media reports of the slayings and subsequent investigation made it impossible for Richardson to get a fair trial before an impartial jury in Linn County.
Judge Ian Thornhill acknowledged in a ruling filed Tuesday that the media reports were pervasive, he didn’t find them inflammatory. He also said Richardson’s defense hasn’t proved any impact on potential jurors.
The trial starting date is May 4.
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