At his Friday court appearance in Judge Todd Plewe’s courtroom, Trinadie Lopez’s defense asked to push his preliminary demand to February, after he is able to take a polygraph test.
According to Lopez’s lawyer Richard Jaye, who appeared via Zoom from Durango, Lopez had a polygraph test scheduled before his preliminary demand, but ended up having to cancel because the polygrapher was unable to perform the test at the scheduled time.
Plewe, chief judge of the 22nd Judicial District, asked Jaye why they wanted to push off the preliminary demand in favor of doing the polygraph test first, to which Jaye said they may not have need for a preliminary hearing, should Lopez pass the test.
“If we had a passing polygraph, we probably wouldn’t need a preliminary hearing,” he said.
Prosecutor agreed with Jaye when asked by Plewe. Lopez’s date for preliminary demand was rescheduled for Feb. 13 at 10 a.m., after the results of the polygraph are ready for review.
A polygraph test is oftentimes referred to as a “lie detector” test, though it doesn’t directly determine whether someone is lying. Instead, the test measures a subject’s blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and more while the subject is asked a series of questions.
Once the results are calculated, investigators can look at the measurements produced by the polygraph to decide if the subject is telling the truth.
Lopez has had multiple appearances in court since the September shooting near Empire and Market Streets that led to the severe injury of 18-year-old Josilyn Mark.
In October, a warrant was issued for Lopez and others who were thought to be connected to the events of the shooting. Lopez turned himself in to police the day his warrant was announced.
Zane Killsinsight, another who was arrested in suspected connection to the shooting, was cleared of all charges by Plewe in December. Others arrested who await court appearances are Demetrius Adams, Delsin Freeman and a minor who has not been named.
Adams will appear in court on Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. for his return filing and appearance on bond. A court date has not yet been scheduled for Freeman, who was taken into custody by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in December.
Police are still seeking another minor in connection to the shooting.
