The trial of two men accused in the 2018 slaying of 70-year-old Stan Norman has been vacated yet again and will not take place this month, attorneys say.
A new trial date has been set in the case of two men accused of the murder of 70-year-old Stan Norman.
Sean Bryant, 53, and Michael McCauley, 43, have both pleaded not guilty to the alleged 2018 murder of Norman. Both men face charges of first-degree murder, and Bryant also faces an additional felony torture charge in connection with the case.
A Tuesday trial date had been postponed after the lead prosecutor in the case, Chris Walsh, resigned this month from the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office.
Newly appointed District Attorney Jesse Wilson said that he will now handle the case himself, adding that his office will be fully prepared to prosecute the case on Sept. 7.
Photo: Elias Funez
For Jesse Wilson, prosecution is not simply an impersonal, bureaucratic service performed on behalf of the state.
Prosecutors, he said, have a duty and a moral obligation to protect crime victims, and as Nevada County’s new district attorney, he wants to make it clear that, first and foremost, he’s taken the job to fight for victims in this community.
“My number one goal is the protection of the public and holding those accountable who compromise that goal … I’m someone who approaches this position from a very victim-centric approach, which I think is the proper way to to look at prosecution,” Wilson said in his first sit-down interview with The Union.
The trial for two men accused of murdering Vietnam veteran Stan Norman will not take place this month, as the resignation of the case’s lead prosecutor has raised new challenges for the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office.
With the trial having already been rescheduled on three separate occasions, the 2018 homicide case had been reset for a July 27 trial date, with co-defendants Sean Bryant, 53, and Michael McCauley, 43, expected to face first-degree murder charges in connection with Norman’s death. Bryant also faces a torture charge. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Last week, Chris Walsh the county’s former assistant district attorney, who had prosecuted the case since charges were originally filed against Bryant and McCauley in 2018 resigned, leaving it initially unclear which county prosecutor would take over the case. Jesse Wilson, who on Monday took office as the county’s new district attorney, said he is now handling the case.
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