Prosecutor wants Frederick trial moved out of Chesapeake

CHESAPEAKE

The special prosecutor in the case against Ryan Frederick, a Chesapeake man accused of killing a city detective, wants his murder trial moved out of Hampton Roads.

The commonwealth has urged the court for a change of venue from Chesapeake to a jurisdiction elsewhere in the state. Frederick is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 20 in Chesapeake Circuit Court on charges of capital murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession with the intent to distribute marijuana.

His defense attorney, James Broccoletti, said Tuesday that he opposes any move, arguing the mere public knowledge of the case alone is an insufficient reason for a change of venue.

"The citizens of Chesapeake have not only the obligation but also the right to sit in judgment in a capital case of this

magnitude, involving allegations of murder of a police officer that occurred in their own city," Broccoletti said in response to the change-of-venue motion. "That opportunity should not be taken away from them and shifted to jurors in another jurisdiction without cause."

A pretrial-motions hearing is scheduled for next week before Judge Marjorie A.T. Arrington.

Frederick is accused of fatally shooting Detective Jarrod Shivers on the night of Jan. 17 while Shivers and more than a dozen other officers executed a drug search warrant. Shivers, a 34-year-old father of three, was standing at the steps of Frederick's front door in the 900 block of Redstart Ave. when he was shot, police said.

Frederick said he fired two shots through his door at what he feared were intruders that night. The shots were fired as officers on the other side of the door used a battering ram on it.

One shot from a .38 -caliber handgun hit Shivers in a side area of his body unprotected by his vest.

Paul Ebert, the commonwealth's attorney from Prince William County, was appointed to prosecute the case after local prosecutors who had worked closely with Shivers said they wanted to avoid any perceived appearance of conflict or bias.

The case has received local and national publicity.

Ebert said the publicity - some of it inaccurate and based on speculation - makes it impossible for the commonwealth to get a fair trial in Hampton Roads. He wants the court to find a jurisdiction that could host a trial of such size.

"As a general rule, they try to get a place with similar demographics," he said.

Broccoletti said he thinks that "the pretrial publicity regarding this case has been remarkably restrained and objective."

He argued that a decision at this time about a change of venue is premature and, if granted, would impose a substantial burden to his client and civilian witnesses. The move would burden the Chesapeake Sheriff's Office with transporting and securing Frederick in another jurisdiction, Broccoletti said.

It also would burden the host jurisdiction, he said. The defense, its witnesses, support staff, the judge and court clerks would have to travel and make overnight accommodations in a new jurisdiction, Broccoletti said.

Broccoletti, in a motion to the court, asked that the selected jury for the trial be allowed to travel to the Portlock section of the city to view the crime scene, both inside and outside Frederick's home. He also seeks to have the court sever the drug case from Frederick's murder case.

"They're separate events and should be tried separately," he said.

John Hopkins, (757) 222-5221, john.hopkins@pilotonline.com