By Demian Bulwa
San Francisco Chronicle
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The sentencing date for former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle has been pushed back three months, to Nov. 5, to allow attorneys to prepare for what is expected to be a lengthy hearing.
A Los Angeles jury convicted Mehserle of involuntary manslaughter July 8 in the shooting death of unarmed train rider Oscar Grant. The verdict means jurors concluded that
prosecutors hadn’t proved Mehserle intended to kill Grant, but believed the officer acted recklessly when he shot Grant in the back Jan. 1, 2009, at the Fruitvale BART Station in
Oakland.
Jurors also found that Mehserle, 28, had used a gun in the commission of a crime. He faces between five and 14 years in prison, although legal experts said defense attorneys could
argue for probation.
Mehserle is in Los Angeles County Jail and will remain there until sentencing.
Judge Robert Perry, who originally set sentencing for Aug. 6, agreed Wednesday to the defense request to push it into fall.
At the hearing, the judge will listen to Grant’s family members deliver what are known as victim impact statements. Mehserle can plead for mercy, and his supporters can address the
court as well.
The judge will also hear legal motions - and perhaps testimony - related to the verdict. Defense attorney Michael Rains is expected to ask for the verdict to be set aside or for a
new trial on the involuntary manslaughter charge.
Rains is also expected to try to strike the gun enhancement, arguing that it shouldn’t apply to armed police officers or to defendants convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Mehserle had intentionally shot Grant, 22, after losing control while trying to arrest him after a fight on a train. Mehserle testified that he
had accidentally drawn and fired his pistol while intending to deploy his Taser.
Copyright 2010 San Francisco Chronicle