Brock trial moved up to March 1

    The trial of Andrew Tyler Brock, 19, of Washington, has been moved up nearly two months to March 1. It was originally scheduled for April 25. Brock is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in connection to a three-vehicle collision in May 2009 in which three people died.

    The collision occurred at the intersection of Lexington Boulevard and Highway 92. Brock is charged with the inadvertent deaths of Samuel Langstaff, Jacqueline Langstaff and Travis Filben while ?driving a motor vehicle in a reckless manner with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.?

    The attorneys in the case met Friday morning to discuss motions and the trial date. District Court Judge Joel Yates suggested to the attorneys that the trial be moved to March 1 because there is an opening at that time. The trial of Rodney ?Joe? Bean for involuntary manslaughter was originally scheduled for March 1, but that trial has been delayed and no new trial date has been set.

Defense Attorney Doug Tindal of Washington said March 1 would be too soon. He said an expert witness he plans to call is very busy and might not make it to a March 1 trial. The expert witness is Ray Knight, a former state trooper from Humboldt.

Prosecuting attorney Laura Roan, who is an assistant attorney general, said the original trial date of April 25 is bad for her because it conflicts with other trials.

Yates said he did not want to give up the March 1 opening. He asked the attorneys how long they thought the trial would last, and they each answered that it would last about a week. Yates asked Tindal to call Knight and ask him when he could testify. Later that morning, after Tindal made some phone calls, he informed Yates and Roan that he was agreeable to a March 1 trial date.

During the motions hearing, Tindal raised a few concerns about the evidence the state might use. One issue was about how many photos of the three decedents could be used at the trial. Tindal said that while the state may present evidence that the people were alive prior to the accident, multiple pictures of them before the accident would be ?overkill.?

Tindal also said it would be excessive for all six parents (two from each decedent) to testify at the trial. Yates asked Roan if she planned to call all six parents, and she said the state would probably call only one parent per decedent.

With regard to the photos, Roan said she would probably not introduce more than one photo of each decedent prior to the collision. Tindal was also worried about the state offering an excessive number of photos of the decedents? bodies immediately after the collision because of the graphic nature of the photos. 

Roan said she was still considering which photos to use, and would show Tindal all the photos she planned to offer into evidence one week prior to the trial. Yates remarked that it would be premature to rule on the admissibility of certain photos before the state officially submits them prior to the trial.        

According to Iowa State Patrol reports, at about 2:30 p.m. on May 23, 2009, a 1997 Chevy pickup driven by Brock,

For more, see our Feb. 14 print edition.