AUBURN – Daniel Roberts of Sabattus, who is accused of shooting his estranged girlfriend to death at his home last year, was back in court Friday arguing that his trial should be moved to northern Maine.

The trial is set for Feb. 5 and is expected to take up to a month, including jury selection.

Auburn attorney Leonard Sharon, who is representing Roberts, was in Androscoggin County Superior Court seeking to convince Justice Joyce Wheeler that pretrial publicity has tainted the potential jury pool in this county.

He presented Wheeler with a binder of newspaper clippings and videotapes of news broadcasts to bolster his claim.

Roberts, 37, is charged with killing 29-year-old Melissa Mendoza with a gunshot to the back of her head on Aug. 15, 2005. He said she came to his Sabattus home to kill him, and he was defending himself and their 2-year-old daughter Savannah Marie Roberts. Roberts and Mendoza had been embroiled in a custody dispute at the time.

If Wheeler agrees and moves the trial, Sharon argued it should be held in a city north of Lewiston, such as Skowhegan or somewhere in Penobscot County. A search of news accounts in southern Maine revealed coverage of the case but nothing in northern Maine, Sharon said.

Wheeler asked: “What about Ellsworth?”

“That would be fine,” Sharon said.

Assistant Attorney General Bill Stokes said the case should be transferred to a different court only if it has the “immediacy, intensity or invidiousness . . . to arouse general ill will or vindictiveness.” He argued that definition didn’t fit this time.

“I don’t sense that anything like that has happened in this case,” he said.

The press hasn’t published any “bombshells” or information that likely wouldn’t be allowed at trial, he said.

The case should stay where it is at least until jury selection gets under way, he said. If attorneys can’t find an impartial jury, a change of venue could be considered at that time.

Sharon said he worried that prospective jurors might have read about two things in particular: Roberts’ membership in the Hell’s Angels motorcycle group at the time of the killing and a possible history of domestic violence.

Even if they hadn’t been aware of those two things, jurors might be influenced about those issues through the process of quizzing them, he said.

“That’s what frightens me, frankly,” he said. “I don’t want to pollute them by asking.”

In a second motion, Sharon is seeking to have an independent laboratory test evidence that the prosecutors might use at trial. Stokes said he was reluctant to hand over the purse of the woman Roberts killed. In most cases, the state is able to given the defense only a portion of the evidence for independent testing, he said, while retaining the rest of to make sure the evidence hasn’t been altered.

Sharon said he wants the woman’s purse to possibly show a link to a gun she may have kept in her purse.

Both lawyers said they would attempt to resolve the issue through discussions with their forensics experts.

A third motion filed by Stokes seeks to suspend the attorney/client privilege Melissa Mendoza had with her attorneys during a child custody dispute. He said Mendoza would likely have waived her privilege now but couldn’t because Roberts killed her.

Wheeler adjourned before deciding on any of the motions. She said she would rule quickly in order not to delay the trial.

Sharon asked Wheeler whether Roberts should be transferred from Androscoggin County Jail, where he’s been kept since December, to the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Sharon said his client has been limited in his ability to exercise. He said any additional cost would be borne by his client.

Copy the Story Link