Judge waits to decide Hawk trial location

Published online on Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2009

A judge has decided to listen to prospective jurors next week before ruling whether David Hawk's murder trial should be moved out of Kings County.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday.

Lawyers for Hawk, accused of killing his ex-wife, Debbie Hawk, argued in court Tuesday afternoon that the case should be moved because, they say, extensive news coverage will prevent Hawk from getting a fair trial in Kings County.

Mark Coleman, one of Hawk's attorneys, said the murder case has been the most-covered story in the Hanford Sentinel newspaper every year since 2006, when Debbie Hawk disappeared. Her body has never been found.

Defense attorneys have counted more than 900 stories in local media on the case.

"There is certainly a substantial likelihood that the jury pool is tainted," Coleman said.

Prosecutor Shane Burns said the defense's claim is speculation. "We need to sit down [potential] jurors and ask questions," he said.

Visiting Judge Daniel E. Creed deferred a decision on whether the case should be moved until after jury selection begins next week. About 90 potential jurors will be summoned to Kings County Superior Court on Monday to fill out questionnaires and begin the jury-selection process.

"I want to satisfy in my own mind whether Mr. Hawk can get a fair trial," Creed said. "Where the answers fall is where the court will make its decision."

Earlier Tuesday, Creed ruled that prosecutors may introduce evidence that Hawk, 51, of Lemoore, purchased a stun gun shortly before the disappearance of his ex-wife, a Hanford resident.

Prosecutors say the stun gun purchase was part of Hawk's murder plan.

"Our theory is that the plan was to have Debbie Hawk vanish and not leave a crime scene," prosecutor Larry Crouch said.

On another defense motion, Creed ruled in favor of banning evidence about the shooting of Debbie Hawk's lawyer, Kim Aguirre.

Prosecutors also believe David Hawk was possibly connected to the May 2006 shooting of Aguirre, which took place the day before a court hearing concerning an alleged theft from the Hawk children's trust account. Debbie Hawk had accused her husband of stealing $300,000 from the account.

Defense attorneys said that evidence was highly prejudicial and irrelevant to the murder case.

Opening trial arguments are scheduled to begin Aug. 10.