The Tiptons had been charged with setting fire to their $1.2 million home in Tracy in 2009 as part of an insurance fraud scheme before the case was dismissed last week.
However, according to prosecutor J.C. Weydert, the charges will be re-filed and the couple will be arraigned again on Nov. 16.
Weydert said that scheduling conflicts sunk the first attempt to bring the Tipton case to trial. But with felony cases, Weydert said, the law gives prosecutors another chance.
“The law provides you get a second chance to correct any shortcomings or issues that came up during the first attempt,” he said. “It’s a restart.”
Weydert said the district attorney’s office is still pursuing the case, and the Tiptons are scheduled to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. in Department 35 of the San Joaquin Superior Court building in Stockton on the appointed date.
Frabya Tipton owned A+ Realty and Mortgage, while her husband used to own West Coast Realty and Mortgage.
Waiters to face jury
Anthony Waiters, the lone man to not accept a plea deal after being accused of torturing a Tracy teenager, will likely face a jury beginning Wednesday, Oct. 27.
According to a court worker, 12 jurors and three alternates had been selected for the trial as of today. On Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. in Department 32, Waiters and his lawyer will seek to relocate the trial, as his lawyer fears his client will not receive a fair trial in San Joaquin County.
Waiters is accused of beating, burning and torturing a teenage boy, known in court papers as Kyle R., while the teen was held captive in a home on Tennis Lane in Tracy. The boy escaped in 2008 with a chain still around his ankle.
Kelly Lau, Michael Schumacher and Carén Ramirez, all also accused in mistreating the teenager, accepted plea deals that landed them each more than 30 years in state prison for various counts, including cutting, burning, beating, starving, drugging, imprisoning and threatening Kyle R.
If the motion is dismissed, the court worker said today, the jury will reconvene at 1:30 p.m., when opening statements will likely be heard.
Yes on E, the cuts are coming.