A trial for Lamour Branch, facing two counts of first-degree murder, will not happen until early next year.
At a status conference on Monday morning, Schuylkill County President Judge Jacqueline Russell granted a defense request for a continuance in the case until late-February.
That means Branch probably will go to trial for the murders of Hunter Mock, 18, and Angelito Caraballo, 16, both of New Philadelphia, during the month of February. Branch is accused of murdering both in a wooded area near the borough on Oct. 8, 2023.
Prosecutors believe Branch, now 21, shot Mock and then stabbed Caraballo to death when they, along with the Commonwealth’s key witness, Jahlique Sherwood, reportedly went to an area called The Sanchez that night.
Branch was charged in the case on June 5, 2024. That date started the proverbial clock to bring the case to trial. Defendants, with a right to a speedy trial, must have their case heard within 365 days of their arraignment.
However, delays have stalled that clock and now it appears Branch won’t go before a jury until February.
On Monday, Branch’s attorney, Schuylkill County Public Defender Ashley Sabol, requested a continuance from Russell. She recently returned to work following maternity leave – which prompted a continuance in May – and says now that her DNA expert is finalizing a contract with her office and that the expert has no openings to appear at trial through the end of this year.
Sabol said her DNA expert is “actively reviewing information” on the Branch case.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake did not object to Sabol’s request. The delay allows the Commonwealth to review any potential DNA evidence Sabol’s expert plans to introduce and retain a similar expert of its own to refute their claims.
That, combined with the fact that Russell said Monday and previously that this case will not be heard during a normal trial period at Schuylkill County Courthouse, persuaded her to grant the continuance. There are trial periods scheduled for November and January.
Branch appeared via video conference at Monday’s proceedings. He simply answered “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am” to a number of Russell’s questions confirming that he’s OK with the latest continuance.
Family members of the victims were on hand Monday for the status conference. When they learned of the continuance pushing off the trial date until next year, they were visibly frustrated and angry.
“I probably can not say anything to ease their frustration. It’s a very personal issue to them,” O’Pake told The Canary.
He said it was important that the Commonwealth err on the side of caution to avoid issues with possible appeals after the trial.
“We only want to do this once,” he said. “We want to make sure that all of the evidence that we want to present is presented fairly so that the jury, once they decide this case, will have had the opportunity to be the ultimate finders of fact so that a fair verdict can be rendered. And ensuring that all the evidence that should be admitted does get admitted is of paramount concern.”
Tanya Evans, Caraballo’s mother, said she’s frustrated by the delays in potentially getting justice for her son.
“It should have already been done,” she said, but she’s also somewhat relieved that a trial will not happen during the upcoming holiday season.
In previous interviews with Evans, she’s explained how difficult the holidays have been without her son.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” she said. “The holidays are hard enough. To sit through a trial would have been worse. We’ll get through it.”
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