A teenager accused of killing a student and injuring three others in an eastern Washington school shooting won’t stand trial for at least another year.
A Spokane County judge has agreed to reschedule to October 2020 the trial of Caleb Sharpe, who is charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder stemming from the September 2017 shooting at Freeman High School, south of Spokane.
His trial was originally set to begin next month, but Superior Court Judge Michael Price agreed to a delay after Sharpe’s defense attorney withdrew because of his clients’ inability to continue paying for his services. Public defenders have since been assigned to the case.
Prosecutors have asked Price to make the 2020 trial date rigid because of the number of prospective jurors, which could number 200 for what is expected to be a four-week-long trial.
Sharpe, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, will stand trial as an adult on the murder charge, attempted murder charges, and 51 counts of second-degree assault related to other students who prosecutors say were put at risk during the shooting. (Spokesman-Review)
