Four co-defendants will be tried separately.
SANFORD – In rat-a-tat fashion, the four Philly Warlocks motorcycle gang members charged with murdering three members of a rival gang will stand trial individually, starting in two weeks.
Two judges today laid out that schedule and spelled out some ground rules, hoping to prevent violence between the two groups whose members hate each other as they sit in the same courtroom, watching justice being played out.
David "Tin Man" Maloney, 54 of Longwood, the leader of the break-away Philly Warlocks, will stand trial first. Circuit Judge Marlene Alva will begin jury selection for him March 31
Today she ordered that no one attending the trial wear gang "colors", patches and insignia that identify which group they belong to.
But she said no when defense attorney Michael LaFay asked that attorneys refer to jurors solely by number – not by name. He had made that request, saying he feared possible juror intimidation or harassment.
Maloney and co-defendants Robert Eckert, 39 of Longwood, Victor Amaro, 43 of Winter Springs, and Paul Smith, 48 of South Carolina, are charged with three counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder for the Sept. 30, 2012, shootout in the parking lot of the Winter Springs VFW.
Defense attorneys say their clients are innocent because they acted in self-defense.
But according to prosecutors, Maloney and his co-defendants ambushed the rival gang members as they pulled into a parking lot, thinking they were about to take part in a charity run to aid veterans.
Killed were three Orlando Warlocks: Harold "Lil Dave" Liddle of Lake County, Peter "Hormone" Schlette Jr. of Louisiana and David "Dresser" Jakiela of Orlando.
They were part of a group from which Maloney and his friends had broken away.
Some members of the group from which Maloney broke away returned gunfire that day, according to prosecution records.
Amora is to stand trial April 14 in front of Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler. The following week, Eckert will be tried in her courtroom.
The last defendant, Smith, who court records show is the first person to open fire, will be tried by Recksiedler either May 5 or 12.
Each trial is expected to last about a week, attorneys said.
