The trial of a father accused of trying to kill his two young daughters by driving them off Sunset Cliffs was delayed from Feb. 21 to May 21 after the defense received thousands of pages of medical records.
Attorney Manuel Avitia, who represents Robert Duane Brians, 50, told San Diego Superior Court Judge Roderick Shelton he had just been handed the documents and wanted a delay to review them all.
Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio said she didn’t oppose the delay and understood that Avitia “wanted to review every page” of the documents before proceeding. The girls were hospitalized after the plunge in the truck but survived.
Balerio mentioned her upcoming legal schedule as well as the schedules of other witnesses, so the date of May 21 was the best date both attorneys had selected. Feb. 21 had been the trial date.
Brians has pleaded not guilty to two counts of the following charges: attempted murder, kidnapping, child abduction, making a criminal threat, child endangerment, and child abuse.
The incident occurred just before 5 a.m. on June 13, 2020. Police officer Jonathan Wiese climbed the cliffs and found the overturned truck on rocks. He said he saw Brians holding the two girls while standing in ocean water. Brians remains in jail without bail.
