By Edgar Sanchez -- The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The trial of Dundell Wright, the parolee charged in the 1999 fatal shooting of Sacramento Police Officer William Bean Jr., has been set for July 21 by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly.
Wright, 38, faces the death penalty if convicted of killing Bean, 28, who was gunned down Feb. 9, 1999, during a Del Paso Heights traffic stop.
The trial has been delayed repeatedly -- but July 21 is firm, prosecutor Michael Savage said.
Wright, who has convictions for drug-and theft-related crimes, was wanted for a parole violation at the time of the shooting.
Wright’s mother, who is visiting from Mississippi, recently was denied a visit with her son, who is being held in the Sacramento County jail without bail, defense attorney Howard McEwan said.
“She was told she couldn’t visit him while he was on lockdown,” McEwan told the court. “He indicates he hasn’t been on lockdown for four or five days.”
Connelly denied a court-ordered visit.
“If there’s a security concern, I don’t want to violate it with a court order,” the judge said, but asked the jail staff to make sure “an error is not occurring.”
Bean was a four-year veteran of the police force.