Further proceedings ordered for man charged in 1987 kidnapping and killing of a Bay Area boy

A Solano County Superior Court judge on Friday ordered a -year-old defendant charged with the murder of a -year-old Vallejo boy to return for more proceedings in the capital circumstance During the brief morning proceeding in Department in Fairfield Judge Wendy Getty advised Fred Marion Cain III to appear for another proceeding at a m June when the judge and the attorneys in the scenario will air a California Appeals Court s pretrial ruling and also likely development in a preliminary hearing setting Related Articles Body discovered in Northern California canal in identified as man with East Bay ties San Jose cold-case assessment links baseball bat killing to deceased man July trial set for Bay Area man accused of killing missing wife on Valentine s Day Killer in Santa Cruz County cold matter identified through DNA evidence Remains of missing teen located in South Santa Cruz County ID d years later A previously convicted felon Cain is charged with the Feb killing of Jeremy Floyd Stoner a crime with special circumstances They include kidnapping sodomy and committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child under years of age At his jail arraignment in with Chief Deputy Constituents Defender Oscar Bobrow at his side Cain pleaded not guilty and denied all enhancements He also is represented by co-counsel Denisse Tanasa a deputy community defender Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Flynn represents the DA s Office During the proceeding Cain sat shackled once again in a wheelchair at the defense table his wispy white hair and beard grown longer over time Although Cain was arrested on the charges in September forward movement in the affair over the months has been stalled by the DA s assertion that the Masses Defender s Office representation of Cain presented a manageable conflict The perceived conflict stemmed not only from the circumstance s special circumstances carrying the possibility of the death penalty but also from the fact that a previous suspect in the circumstance Shawn Melton who was twice acquitted of the charge several decades ago was represented by the Population Defender Flynn and other prosecutors believe Bobrow could argue third-person culpability to a jury asserting that Melton despite the acquittals was the actual killer instead of Cain Flynn craved the Citizens Defender to recuse itself from the situation and have the trial court appoint an alternate counsel qualified to handle capital cases But Bobrow has argued that no one in current times in the Community Defender s Office has any connection to the previous trial Melton has since died and the defense attorney in the Melton matter then Society Defender Peter Foor who later became a Superior Court judge has since retired Judge Getty granted the DA s motion for an alternative writ of mandate a type of court order to comply with the DA s request or explain why they should not be forced to comply Cain then filed an instant petition for extraordinary relief from that order according to a document from the First Appellate District Court of California In response the court on April granted Cain s petition because no conflict of interest presently exists Appealed to comment on the appellate court s decision Flynn stated in the email to The Reporter We accept the First District Court s ruling and are ready to move forward with the event A previously stated jail records show Cain was arrested a second time after being first taken into custody near Medford Oregon on a warrant served Sept in Red Bluff by Solano County Sheriff s deputies He was booked into custody in Fairfield without bail shortly after noon that same day Before Cain s second arrest particular additional details about the incident emerged during a press conference called by Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams She recounted particular of the previously published details of Cain s Sept arrest news that gained statewide attention after the release of a press comment Sept and a Reporter story posted online later that evening Abrams also provided new information about the circumstance not mentioned in the prepared comment including Stoner s name According to the criminal complaint Stone was killed on or about Feb in Solano County Additionally she cited previous felony convictions against Cain in Contra Costa County Superior Court on May He was ascertained guilty of sodomy rape by the use of an intoxicating substance burglary and first-degree burglary Abrams also noted she reinstated the Cold Occurrence Unit in her office after being first elected in and credited new DNA analysis and two cold matter investigators Steve Howisey and Kevin Coelho for working tirelessly to solve a situation she described as every parent s worst nightmare Stoner s death wracked the Vallejo area she added Howisey reported Abrams took another look at the development in October obtaining evidence that displayed a match for the initial suspect in the matter Shawn Melton However after a trial and retrial with juries unable to reach unanimous verdicts he was disclosed from custody and eventually exonerated So investigators determined DNA could lead to another suspect and it led to Cain who Abrams commented was initially interviewed after the killing on March but was not taken into custody Cain she noted did know the child and was not living in Vallejo at the time of the alleged killing Howisey and Coelho with members of the Jackson County Sheriff s Office arrested Cain at his home in Central Point just north of Medford on Interstate Coelho declared Cain was compliant with officers commands A former Vallejo police officer Coelho described the inquiry as very lengthy recalling that the episode has been talked about for years by Vallejo officers and others He announced he took a personal interest in this affair In the initial press announcement Abrams noted Stoner was abducted near his home in Vallejo Four days after he went missing his body was discovered on Sherman Island in Sacramento County An autopsy revealed that the boy had been sexually assaulted At the press conference she provided additional details about why Melton initially was named as a suspect in the circumstance and arrested She commented Melton walked into the Vallejo Police Department and appeared to have his own investigative system and provided information as Abrams explained only the person responsible for the child s death would know Abrams communicated The Reporter that given the charges against Cain he is eligible for the death penalty at this time but we will not make the final decision until after the preliminary hearing is concluded Gov Gavin Newsom in signed an executive order halting executions in California while he s in office but capital punishment convictions remain practicable in the Golden State