Jason Tisdale is charged with being a hit man for the Crips street gang, and federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Today, Tisdale, 28, received a trial separate from the 18 other defendants with whom he was originally indicted.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten signed an order setting Tisdale’s new trial date for June 9, 2009.
A grand jury charged Tisdale with killing three people, two in 1998 and another in 2004. Prosecutors say Tisdale shot Tisha Jones and Keith James in February 1998. Police have said Jones was scheduled to testify in a robbery against a Crips gang member. Authorities also say Tisdale shot and killed Umanah Smith in August 2004 over what police at the time said resulted from a nightclub dispute.
The other defendants are set for trial next February.