Progress continues to be slow as attorneys prepare for the murder trial of Laron Carlton Graham, who is accused of a 2015 double murder.
A Juneau grand jury indicted Graham, 40, in February for two counts of first-degree murder for the Nov. 15, 2015 shooting deaths of 36-year-old Robert H. Meireis and 34-year-old Elizabeth Tonsmeire.
The trial is set for Feb. 19, 2019, and attorneys have estimated the case will take about seven weeks. It’s a complex case, Judge Philip Pallenberg said during a court hearing Tuesday, and that’s resulting in a huge amount of research for attorneys beforehand.
Graham’s attorney, the Office of Public Advocacy’s Natasha Norris, said via telephone in court Tuesday that she has worked through thousands of pages of discovery and is still awaiting more. She mentioned there are parts of police reports, lab reports and other items that she still doesn’t have.
Assistant Attorney General John Darnall, prosecuting the case for the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Prosecutions, said via telephone in court Tuesday that he had just that day sent more electronic files to Norris.
Graham was present in person, and expressed frustration at how long the process was taking. He said he believes the prosecution is dragging its feet.
“The state’s case is weak and they know it,” Graham said. “So I’m saying, come on with it. Let’s not play games. Let’s give the people what they want.”
Graham pleaded not guilty to the charges in February.
Norris proposed, and Pallenberg agreed, that the parties should meet more often over the next few months to work through any issues they might have. Pallenberg scheduled another hearing for 3 p.m. July 5.
Graham is currently being held at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on an unrelated conviction. In a 2016 trial, Graham was found guilty of felony vehicle theft, robbery, assault and witness tampering. He was also found guilty on nine misdemeanors, including violating a domestic violence protective order and for trespassing at a Gruening Park apartment where he threatened to throw his then-girlfriend out a window while she was holding her 1-year-old child.
Graham represented himself in that case, and in court Tuesday, Norris said Graham is once again having complaints about his representation. Pallenberg chose not to hear the complaints Tuesday, as he will be the judge in the trial and didn’t want to hear too much from Graham about the details of the case. Pallenberg said he’ll schedule a hearing between Graham and a different judge as soon as possible to hear Graham’s thoughts.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
