ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The attorney for 17-year-old Sergio Morgan-Wideman, who’s accused of gunning down a store clerk in St. Augustine last year, filed two new motions Monday.
One of them asks for time to review new evidence presented by the state.
The other asks the court to throw out all the evidence that was seized during the traffic stop when Morgan Wideman and 18-year-old Andre Robinson were pulled over after the crime.
The defense said the evidence was taken unlawfully.
The trial is scheduled to begin next week.
Morgan-Wideman and Robinson are accused of robbing the Tobacco and Beverage Express in St. Augustine and shooting and killing the store clerk, 29-year-old Malav Desai.
The two teens then took police on a high-speed chase through Putnam and Clay counties. After a PIT maneuver by officers, the two were stopped and taken into custody.
One of the motions filed by Morgan-Wideman’s attorney, Rosemarie Peoples, asks the court to throw out any evidence or statements that were obtained after the two teens were stopped.
Peoples says police did not have the right to initially stop the two, saying the tip police got on the vehicle was anonymous with not enough credibility.
Attorney Gene Nichols, who is not affiliated with the case, talks more about the motion.
“You're detained when an officer's behind you and turns on those lights. If that was illegal, which is what they're arguing, then anything that flows from that illegal detention, anything that's found, anything that was said by the defendants, can subsequently potentially be suppressed by the court,” Nichols said.
According to the search warrant, police found $800 in cash in the SUV, clothing that matched the description of the suspects in the store, and an ammo clip. No gun was found.
As for the motion to delay the trial until February, the defense says it needs time to depose a new expert witness just listed by the prosecution to talk about cellphone evidence.
The judge has yet to rule on the motions.