In the video player: Previous coverage
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Christopher Clements, previously convicted for the 2014 kidnapping and killing of 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez, will not stand trial this month for alleged possession of a contraband sharpened pencil.
The trial, previously set to begin Tuesday, Dec. 19, was vacated after Pima County District Attorney Laura Conover filed a motion to dismiss the contraband case in late November. According to court documents, the prosecution aimed to dismiss this trial to avoid conflicts in jury selection in Clements's upcoming murder trial, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 6 of next year.
Clements's attorney Joseph DiRoberto is also asking the trial related to Clements' contraband, already pushed back twice this fall, be dismissed—but with prejudice, and not pushed again to a further date. DiRoberto argued in his motion that postponing the contraband trial indefinitely would violate Clements' rights to a speedy trial.
Defense attorneys had previously argued to hold the contraband trial before his 2024 murder trial date.
Clements's pencil possession is classified as "promoting prison contraband," a class 2 felony.
Clements already faced a trial in February of this year for the 2012 kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Isabel Celis. The jury was unable to reach a decision and declared a mistrial.
The 2024 trial will be a re-trial of that case. Clements is already serving a life sentence for the Gonzalez murder.
