U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia agreed Monday to reset the trial to May 22 from March 20 after Pettit’s attorney asked for a 90-day delay.
Mathew T. Allen, Pettit’s defense lawyer, said in a court filing last week that he needed the extra time to review “the voluminous” amount of documents filed in the case. But he also wanted more time “to have thorough and adequate negotiations (with prosecutors) in an attempt
to resolve this matter
without a trial.”
Last month, the judge agreed to push back the trial’s Feb. 13 start date by five weeks after Allen said he needed more time to review the material in the case.
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Allen didn’t respond to a request for comment Monday.
Garcia set a May 11 deadline for the parties to notify the court of any plea agreement. If no deal is reached, a pretrial conference will be held May 18.
A grand jury indicted Pettit, 55, in December on five counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering, charges that could land him in prison for years if convicted. He has