But prosecutors say it would be unfair to put the six victims' families through four trials.
By Associated Press
Published October 23, 2005
DAYTONA BEACH - The four men accused of beating six others to death over an Xbox video game console have asked to be tried separately. But prosecutors say that's an unnecessary move because jurors typically handle multidefendant trials without much difficulty.
Attorneys for Troy Victorino, the 28-year-old accused of masterminding the killings at a Deltona home last year, told Circuit Judge William A. Parsons that their client could not have a fair trial if he stands alongside the three alleged accomplices - each of whom blamed Victorino for concocting the plan.
"All three have confessed, making statements that Victorino is to blame," attorney Michael Nielsen said. "Troy has denied his involvement and has maintained his innocence. We want a separate trial, because under the law, he is presumed innocent."
Victorino has said he was drunk and passed out a bar when the killings took place.
The three other defendants - Jerone Hunter, Michael Salas and Robert Anthony Cannon, all 19 - also want separate trials, contending that would be fairer.
"It's just going to be a pile-on Troy Victorino case," said Jeff Dowdy, another of Victorino's attorneys. "Our defenses are not the same."
Parsons said he will rule on the requests in the coming week.
The four are accused of barging into the Deltona home and using baseball bats to bludgeon the victims and a small dog. One of the victims had an Xbox video game system that Victorino lost when he was kicked out of a house where he was squatting. The house belonged to the grandmother of a victim.
Investigators said Victorino organized the attack to retrieve the Xbox and other items from the home.
State Attorney John Tanner said a joint trial is necessary, partly so that the victims' families endure the process only once.
"We have six families of six dead young victims who should not be subjected to four separate trials because it is cumbersome," Tanner said. "It would be excessive and unreasonable."
The six people killed in the attack ranged in age from 17 to 34.
