The hearing to see if one of the two teens accused of lying in wait to kill 18-year-old Caleb Quick of Clovis last year was pushed back for another month as prosecutors shore up an expert for their case in Fresno County juvenile court.
The transfer hearing for Cassie Michael was continued to April 13, a month later than was planned, by Judge Amythest Freeman, the presiding judge for the Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Dependency Division.
Senior District Attorney Kendall Reynolds told the judge he was waiting on a report from an expert psychologist that he expected to include “germane and necessary material” for his case.
Michael was 16 when she allegedly drove another 16-year-old, Byron Rangel, to the McDonald’s on Willow and Nees avenues April 23 and then acted as the getaway driver after Rangel allegedly shot Quick in the head outside the fast food location, according to prosecutors.
One of her attorneys, Jeff Hammerschmidt, has said it does not appear that she was aware of what would happen at the restaurant nor had knowledge that the other teen had a gun.
Hammerschmidt objected Monday to pushing the trial back further, telling the judge he had already secured an expert for his case. Michael has been in custody for about nine months without that hearing.
“I think there’s been adequate time,” he said outside the court. “I think the fact that we were able to get an expert and have a written opinion provided in December shows that there’s adequate time.”
Hammerschmidt said if the hearing were to be continued further, he’d request Michael be released from custody.
The transfer hearing would last no more than five days and is to be held at the downtown Fresno Superior Court, according to the judge.
Michael has been using her time in custody to show she can be rehabilitated, according to Sally Vecchiarelli, another attorney for the teen girl. She said Michael has finished high school, and has begun college-level classes.
“Quite frankly, she’s never been in trouble before,” Vecchiarelli said. “So it’s not even really an issue of her needing rehabilitation. It’s rather an issue of the facts coming to light in regard to what her involvement was in this case.”
The juvenile court system places a greater emphasis on rehabilitation for youthful offenders than those tried in adult court, according to experts. The amount of time Michael faces if convicted is also significantly shorter if she is tried as a juvenile.
As an adult, Michael would face 26 years to life if convicted of participating in the slaying, prosecutors said. As a juvenile, she faces up to seven years of confinement or up until she turns 25.
Rangel and Michael were dating. The two 16-year-olds turned themselves into Clovis police on May 10, more than two weeks after Quick was killed. They’ve been in custody since.
An attorney for Rangel has said the shooting was motivated by an alleged sexual assault by Quick that was caught on camera video.
Rangel’s next hearing is Feb. 26.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.