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Court Briefs: Deliberations continue in Konolus Smith trial

Adam Jensen

After more than a day of deliberation, a jury of five women and seven men had yet to reach a verdict Thursday in the trial of a Meyers man accused of trying to kill his wife with an overdose of pills in the early-morning hours of Aug. 29.

Konolus Smith faces charges in El Dorado County Superior Court of attempted murder, making criminal threats, false imprisonment and spousal battery due to his allegations from his wife, Pamela Smith, that he tied her up and forced her to swallow a combination of pills while threatening to stab her with a pair of scissors.

Deliberations began Wednesday evening and were expected to continue today.



In other news in El Dorado County Superior Court:

Judge Suzanne Kingsbury set the opening date for the trial of accused murder Ulysses Roberson during a hearing Thursday. The opening of the much-delayed trial is scheduled for Aug. 5.



The most recent delay in the case came earlier this month, when defense attorney Monica Lynch said she had been unable to contact a defense investigator.

Attending Thursday’s meeting by phone, Lynch said she has found a new defense investigator for the case.

Roberson was charged in 2001 with killing his 4-year-old son, Alexander Olive, in their Tahoe Keys home in late 1985 or early 1986. Alexander’s body has not been found.

Additional preliminary hearings in the case were scheduled for Jan. 18 and May 8.

A venue for the trial has yet to be decided on. South Lake Tahoe, Placerville and Sacramento County have all been discussed as possibilities.

The next hearing for a South Lake Tahoe couple accused of assaulting a East Indian man at El Dorado Beach has been scheduled for Feb. 22.

Georgia and Joseph Silva face a felony charge of assault likely to produce great bodily injury, with a hate-crime enhancement.

The couple allegedly attacked a 37-year-old man from the Bay Area, called him derogatory names and spit on him July 14.

At a hearing Thursday, the Silvas’ attorney, Elizabeth Grossman, said additional time before the trial is needed to obtain a deposition from a witness.

Georgia Silva also is charged with two misdemeanor counts of using force or threats to interfere with another’s civil rights in connection with the alleged incident.


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