Yuki, Zac, and I stood at the bench, looking up at the judge.
Yuki said just above a whisper, “Your Honor, the man who we believe killed Officer Todd Morton has been positively identified by his photo. His fingerprints on his gun matched his prints inside the Chevy and Mr. Hunt’s RAV4. I would prefer you hear this information from Sergeant Boxer, who is a homicide investigator with the SFPD.”
Judge Rabinowitz looked at Zac.
“Okay with you, Mr. Jordan?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
He said, “If we were on a TV show, I would say, ‘This is highly irregular.’”
Irregular or not, the judge called court into recess, and Yuki, Zac, and I followed the judge into his private chambers. He didn’t ask us to sit, so we stood around his desk.
Judge Rabinowitz said, “What can you tell me about this individual, Sergeant?”
I said, “The man we believe was the passenger in the stolen white Chevy, the one who shot officer Morton, is a drug dealer by the name of Antoine Castro.”
“You have him in custody?”
“He was shot dead yesterday, Your Honor.”
“You say the man suspected of shooting Officer Morton is dead?” Rabinowitz said. “And what do you infer from that, Mr. Jordan?”
Zac Jordan said, “As I’ve told the court, Clay Warren was terrified that the shooter would have him killed or harm his family. Absent the immediate threat, my client may cooperate with the DA. If he tells what he knows about the drugs in the car, if had a working relationship with Castro, we may be able to roll up some major criminal activity.”
“Lot of ifs and maybes,” Rabinowitz said.
Zac added, “We need a little time, Your Honor. The defense requests a continuance.”
“This is highly irregular,” said the judge. “But you’ve got until one week from today.”