Trial is stopped after judge learns lawyer has outstanding arrest warrant
A judge in Redwood City, California, stopped a criminal trial this week after learning the lawyer for the defendant had an inactive license and a warrant out for his arrest.
The warrant for Deron Kartoon cited his failure to appear in court on May 11 on misdemeanor charges of commercial burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card, attempted grand theft and possession of a methamphetamine pipe, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Those charges stem from an alleged attempt to use a fraudulent credit card to get a cash advance at a casino last year, the Chronicle reports. A week before Kartoon’s failure to appear in court, he and his girlfriend were arrested in a forgery and identity theft investigation, covered by the Marin Independent Journal in this May 4 story. Kartoon is also facing charges for arrests in 2013 after police allegedly discovered methamphetamine at his home and in his car.
Kartoon’s client is accused of using other people’s financial information to buy more than 167 iPads.
Kartoon told the Chronicle he voluntarily put his license on inactive status earlier this month, and he was in court only to make sure his client got a new lawyer. He said his drug issues are “being handled” and he expects to be “exonerated fully on everything.”
