Motions pending in murder case

ALAMOSA — Three of the numerous codefendants charged in the June 2016 death of Floyd Dale McBride, 52, appeared in court at various stages of their respective cases on Tuesday.

Lonnie Cooper, 43, who is accused of taking the shot that would prove fatal to McBride, appeared in court with his attorney Joshua Tolini. Cooper remains in custody.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin on November 13 for Cooper. District Judge Michael Gonzales on Tuesday scheduled a motions hearing for the afternoon of Friday, September 8. The judge said he has already acted on most of the motions filed by the defense, but some motions remain such as a motion to suppress cell phone calls. The judge will also deal with a motion from the prosecution, led by District Attorney Crista Newmyer-Olsen.

Kelvin Ruybal, 34, being held in custody outside Alamosa County, appeared in court on Tuesday. Through his attorney David Roth, Ruybal entered a denial to charges against him for his part in the McBride incident as well as another case pending against him.

Regarding the McBride murder, Ruybal has been charged with numerous counts including manslaughter, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping. He is accused of helping to move McBride after he was shot and while he was still alive and then subsequently burying him after he bled to death from a gunshot wound. McBride was later dug up and reburied in another location.

Judge Gonzales scheduled another status conference in Ruybal’s case for August 8 at which time the judge intends to schedule a jury trial.

Another codefendant in the McBride case, Naomi Olguin, 22, appeared with her attorney Janet Kinniry on Tuesday. Olguin is not currently in custody.

Olguin faces several felony charges related to the McBride case including conspiracy to commit second-degree kidnapping. Olguin also has another case pending in court.

Kinniry has not yet filed any motions on Olguin’s behalf but told the judge she intends to. She said the motions she intends to file include a motion to suppress. She added that the hearing on motions she intended to file would likely require a fair amount of testimony.

In April Olguin had entered a denial to the charges against her, so Judge Gonzales said he needs to set a trial by October to meet the speedy trial requirement. Kinniry told the judge she believed the trial on Olguin’s more serious case would take five days, and Assistant DA Ashley McCuaig said it could probably be handled in four days since the court moves the jury selection process along fairly quickly.

Judge Gonzales scheduled Olguin’s trial related to the McBride homicide for October 10-13 and her other case for November 1 and 2, which is slightly outside the speedy trial time period ending October 18.

The judge also scheduled a motions hearing for August 11.