More time for plea deal in Modesto killing case

Attorneys will get at least three more weeks to agree on a possible plea deal for a man accused of murder in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome more than three years ago in Modesto.

Richard Maurice Jolly, 19, appeared briefly Monday afternoon in Stanislaus County Superior Court before the judge scheduled him to return Jan. 28 for another pretrial hearing.

Judge Marie Silveira said the attorneys can show up to the hearing with an agreed-upon plea deal or she can schedule a trial for Jolly. Defense attorney Frank Carson told the judge he and the prosecution are working to resolve the case before it reaches trial.

Jolly is accused of firing the gun that killed Eliazar Hernandez in the aftermath of a violent confrontation between two groups on Oct. 20, 2009, near Lombardo Avenue, just east of South Ninth Street and several blocks south of the Tuolumne River. The defendant remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.