Attorney motions to quit in Tracy killing case

The attorney representing a man accused of killing a 20-year-old Tracy man last year has filed a motioned in San Joaquin County Superior Court to withdraw as his legal counsel.

Attorney Michael Cardoza asked the courts Thursday, Sept. 22, to allow him to withdraw as the attorney for Edgar Jose Canseco, 20. Canseco is charged in connection with the killing of Kevin Prater II on the night of Sept. 15, 2010, in Tracy. Cardoza said he wants to remain as the attorney for Canseco, but it was a matter of money.

?No problem with the client. He?s a good kid,? Cardoza said. ?Merely financial issues; can?t be going to court for free a month at a time. We?re still trying to come to a (financial) resolution.?

If Cardoza should remain as the defendant?s attorney, he said he was still not sure when they would be setting the trial date.

?I don?t want to postpone it,? said the victim?s mother, Robin. ?I?m ready to get some closure. He (Canseco) was the mastermind. If he didn?t set this up, my son would still be alive.?

Prater?s son was shot while driving along Sixth Street with his girlfriend in the front passenger seat and 20-year-olds Emmanuel Mendoza and Canseco in the backseat. According to police, when Prater stopped his car, a third man, James Stancampiano, 19, came up behind the car and shot Prater once in the chest.

Canseco was arrested the next day, and Stancampiano and Mendoza remain at large. Two billboards in the form of wanted posters were placed in Tracy and Stockton in June with pictures of the two missing men, offering a reward for their capture and conviction.

Faced with the charges of murder, armed with firearm during a felony, street terrorism, robbery and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, Canseco remains behind bars in San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp.

Robin Prater said a plead bargain offer was made to Canseco for 15 years in prison with the agreement to testify against the two missing defendants upon their arrest. She said she countered that offer for a 30-year prison sentence, and Canseco turned it down.

?I?m going to get on the stand on Monday and ask for a speedy trial,? she said. ?We?ll know on Monday if they can retain him (Cardoza) or he will release himself. Once they retain a public defender, I want to give him 60 days to get abreast of the case and let?s proceed.?

Court officials have agreed to hold a hearing Monday, Sept. 26, in Stockton Superior Court in Department 24 at 9:30 a.m. to address the motion to withdraw by Cardoza.

Source: http://tracypress.com/bookmark/15647981

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