Nearly four years after their alleged involvement in a killing, two men accused of a fatal 2021 shooting in Vallejo are still waiting to learn the date of their Solano County Superior Court trial.
Kevonte Maurice Ridgle, 32, of Antioch, and Dequan Antonio Wright, 31, of Vacaville, appeared Thursday morning in Department 1 in Fairfield for a previously scheduled trial-setting and a motion to reinstate a prior ruling about suppressing some evidence in the case.
Vallejo-based defense attorney Dustin M. Gordon represented Ridgle. He also represented Wright, substituting for San Francisco-based attorney Jai M. Gohel. Deputy District Attorney Jason Lianides represented the DA’s Office (Deputy DA Ilana Shapiro serves as co-counsel.)
The morning proceeding centered around prosecutor Liandes’ argument that a May 12 motion to suppress some evidence, known as a “995 motion,” a reference to the Penal Code section, should not be reinstated in the case.
Gordon argued to Judge Jeffrey C. Kauffman that the motion to suppress, citing an earlier ruling by Judge William J. Pendergast, should remain in effect.
But Lianides countered that Pendergast had recused himself from the case “long before the 995 motion,” and that the two cases have not been severed, meaning Ridgle and Wright will be tried at the same time.
He added that the case law Gordon cited in his submission to the court was not germane “to the situation.”
Kauffman called the matter “a bit of a novel issue,” but added that it was “clear that Judge Pendergast’s actions are void.”
Additionally, the judge said he could not find an prior case that clarifies the situation and offers guidance.
Kauffman then set a ruling in the 995 matter for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 19 in Department 25, Judge Janice M. Williams’ courtroom. It is unclear if Williams will set a trial date after ruling on the pretrial matter.
Ridgle and Wright are charged with the Sept. 16 killing of Edward Anderson, 38, at the Black Bear Diner, 980 Admiral Callaghan Lane, in Vallejo, a crime investigators believe was gang-related.
Ridgle is charged with first-degree murder, a felony with the special circumstance of lying in wait, and several enhancements: being a member of a street gang, being a repeat offender, and causing great bodily injury. He also is charged with having three prior convictions of being a felon or addict in possession of a firearm. Wright also faces a first-degree murder charge, with the same enhancements, and also having three prior convictions of being a felon or addict in possession of a firearm.
The case has taken some turns through the years, including the defendants’ motion to reinstate the May 12 ruling.
Lianides on July 16 this year filed a lengthy opposition to the defense’s motion, citing a filing by Ridgle’s previous defense attorney of a motion to quash a search warrant for Instagram records from Jan. 1, 2021, to Oct. 13, 2021, and from Sept. 9, 2021 to Dec. 9, 2021.
Additionally, Ridgle filed a second motion on Oct. 12, 2021, to suppress the cellphone seized from a Porter Street residence in Vallejo.
Wright, through his previous attorney at the time, filed a motion to suppress a search warrant to a Fairfield residence.
After the defendants’ preliminary hearing, from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2, 2022, followed by their held-to-answer arraignment on Nov. 22, Kauffman denied all motions to suppress evidence.
Attorneys Gordon and Gohel took over their respective defense duties on July 25, 2023, and a trial eventually was set for May 13, 2025.
But on April 28, Ridgle and Wright both filed a motion to dismiss the case. On May 12 Judge Pendergast, hearing the matter at the time, ruled in the defense’s favor to quash the Instagram records but declined to dismiss the case.
Afterward, DA Shapiro on June 4 persuaded Pendergast to vacate his May 12 ruling on the 995 motion. The judge agreed his ruling was “in excess” of his jurisdiction, according to court documents.
But after the June 4 hearing, Ridgle filed a motion to reinstate the May 12 ruling, and Wright joined the motion on July 1.
As part of his opposition to the reinstatement, Lianides argued the court “has the inherent authority” to render interim rulings; that Ridge and Wright are charged in a single charging document and their trial has not been severed; and “as a general rule,” it is improper for one judge to reconsider or overrule another judge’s order.
Pendergast, he noted, disqualified himself from the case in May 2022, and the prosecution did not waive a judge’s disqualification.
As previously reported, after an 11-day preliminary hearing that began in October 2022, Kauffman, citing “sufficient evidence” to hold them for trial, ordered Wright and Ridgle to return for a held-to-answer arraignment. They pleaded not guilty.
During a Nov. 2 hearing, Kauffman said there was enough evidence to show that Wright and Ridgle committed murder using rifles, confirming information in the criminal complaint.
Also, Kauffman said there was enough evidence to indicate the murder was committed to benefit a criminal street gang and that the two men, both previously convicted felons, were “lying in wait” before shooting Anderson, the latter a “special circumstance” allegation.
In some cases, special circumstances compel district attorneys to seek the death penalty, but Shapiro told The Reporter afterward she would not seek capital punishment for Anderson’s killing.
If found guilty at trial of first-degree murder, Ridgle and Wright each face 25 years to life, plus the likelihood of significant additional time for using a gun, committing a crime to benefit a gang, being previously convicted felons, and the special allegation, if proven, of lying in wait.