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He might be able to use the internet and his cellphone now, but he still has a trial under his belt for failing to register as a sex offender in the first place. Apparently, Petty wants to get the trial under way as soon as possible, but the judge is thinking otherwise.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed paperwork yesterday which asks to delay Petty’s trial for six weeks, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial was scheduled to begin today, April 28th. They reportedly acknowledged within the paperwork that Petty was against the delay of the trial.
Still, they say it would prove to difficult to keep the trial as planned, because they cannot guarantee that the jurors would be able to social distance, and there is a particular witness that would need to travel from New York to California as well.
The judge has yet to make a decision on the U.S. Attorney’s Office request to delay the trial. If he is convicted in this case, he faces up to ten years behind bars.