Bunty dismissal motion resumes

SANDPOINT — A Cocolalla man’s effort to have California murder and robbery charges against him dismissed resumes today in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Christian Leonard Bunty Sr. is charged with two counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and second-degree robbery. The charges stem from the disappearance of Mark Wayne Adamson and Joseph Gerald Riley in Barstow, Calif., in 1995.

Two alleged accomplices have also been implicated in the disappearances of Adamson and Riley.

Bunty, 41, was arrested in Sagle in late 2012, despite the fact that the remains of Adamson and Riley remain unaccounted for.

Bunty pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment last year. He remains jailed at the Adelanto Detention Center, according to the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office.

Bunty is ineligible for bail due to special circumstances in the killings. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without parole because more than one person was allegedly slain and the killings occurred during the commission of a robbery.

Barstow Police contend Bunty and James Linzy Franklin, who is already serving a lifelong prison sentence for an unrelated homicide in California, lured the two victims into the desert to purchase ephedrine — a precursor chemical used to cook methamphetamine — but instead robbed and killed the two men.

A third suspect, Steven Michael Dondero, 37, was implicated in the killings last month, according to court records.

Bunty’s friends and family vigorously dispute the charges and assert that he is being framed by authorities in California.

Outside the arrests that were made, the cold case has not garnered any further media coverage in California.

Sparse online court minutes indicate Bunty’s defense counsel began arguing a motion to dismiss last month. The defense appears to be arguing that Bunty’s constitutional right to due process was violated because of a pre-arrest delay.

In broad terms, attorneys in California contend pre-arrest delay occurs when there is a lag time between the completion of the prosecution’s investigation and notification to a defendant that charges are being brought.

Judge Debra Harris issued a tentative ruling on the defense motion earlier this month, but court minutes do not elaborate. The proceedings resume today.