A California murder trial collapsed into a mistrial after the defendant’s own attorney was arrested in the courthouse for alleged intoxication, then vanished before the next hearing.
Attorney Christopher Loethen, who was representing Kelley Marie Ball, was taken into custody Sept. 16 inside the Stanislaus County courthouse in Modesto, according to the Modesto Bee. Staff had grown alarmed by his condition during proceedings in Ball’s trial, and he was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on suspicion of public intoxication, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance. He was released that same night.
When court resumed Thursday, Loethen failed to appear entirely. The court made “extensive efforts” to reach him by phone and email, but he did not appear, the Bee reported. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Valli Israels left messages demanding his presence at a second hearing scheduled for Friday.
Israels had already flagged disturbing shifts in Loethen’s conduct before the arrest. “It just seemed like there was an aggressiveness about Mr. Loethen, not just towards the court, but in general,” the judge said.
With Loethen missing, Israels stripped him of his role and appointed Martin Baker as Ball’s new defender. Baker told the court he needed additional preparation time before the jury’s scheduled return Tuesday. Prosecutors objected, but Israels granted the request.
The trial, which began Aug. 25, was on its seventh day when Israels declared a mistrial without prejudice, preserving prosecutors’ ability to retry Ball.
Ball, who remains jailed on $2.195 million bail, is due back in court Sept. 24. She faces charges of murder, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and vandalism. Court documents show she also holds several prior DUI convictions between 1997 and 2007.
The case stems from a 2020 DUI hit-and-run crash in Modesto that killed a 12-year-old girl.
Loethen’s law office has offered no clarity on his status. A person at the office told the Bee she had not spoken with Loethen and had no information about his arrest.