THE jury trial of Calvin C. Tagabuel, charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery, will proceed as scheduled on Feb. 11 at 9 a.m.
Second-degree murder is the criminal act of killing another person without premeditation or intent to cause death.
At the pre-trial conference on Wednesday before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, Tagabuel, 48, appeared in the custody of the Department of Corrections and was represented by attorney Joey McDoulett. Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
In his minute order, Judge Camacho directed the parties to meet to confer and “finalize jury instructions, verdict form, expert witness site visit, amended information and the need for possible Daubert Hearing,” which is a legal procedure to determine whether an expert witness’s testimony or evidence is admissible in court.
The judge said the parties must be prepared to discuss these and other relevant matters at the next scheduled hearing on Jan. 23 at 10:30 a.m.
If the prosecution and defense agree, a site visit to the location of the incident may be conducted during the trial, Variety learned.
Judge Camacho ordered the Marshals to start serving jury summons.
The incident
According to police, the victim was punched in the mouth by Tagabuel, causing the victim to fall to the ground.
Initially, Tagabuel was charged with voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated assault and battery.
According to the complaint against Tagabuel, on Jan. 6, 2024, at around 9:46 a.m., the Department of Public Safety received a call about an unconscious man who was later identified as Lark Kasian.
Responding police and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services officers found Kasian lying on the stairway at the entrance to Cool Laundry in Kagman. He was observed with a swollen and dry mouth, a scrape on his right kneecap, and blood on his pants.
The victim, who was awake but unable to speak, was transported to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. for further evaluation.
Kasian was admitted to CHCC for trauma subarachnoid hemorrhage or “bleeding in the head.” On Jan. 12, 2024, at around 6:07 a.m., he died at the hospital.
Police learned that the victim had consumed alcoholic beverage and had gotten into an argument with another man in the evening of Jan. 5, 2024.
While police were conducting an investigation and processing the scene, they encountered Tagabuel, who told one of the investigators that he fought with the victim, Kasian.
In an interview with police, Tagabuel said he saw Kasian inside Cool Laundry where an on-duty security guard asked Tagabuel for help.
Tagabuel said Kasian was pointing at him and the security guard, “making a fist with one hand and punching the palm of his hand threatening to ‘smash’ them.”
Tagabuel told police that Kasian asked him to “fight.”
Tagabuel said he punched Kasian in the mouth. Kasian then fell to the ground, and appeared to have been “knocked out,” Tagabuel added.
He said he later carried Kasian to the stairway near the Cool Laundry entrance and told the security guard not to call for an ambulance and let Kasian “sleep it off.”
On Jan. 13, 2024, investigators reviewed the security camera footage from Cool Laundry. It indicated that at around 11:14 p.m. on Jan. 5, a security guard attempted to escort Kasian out of Cool Laundry.
Kasian was seen standing at the entrance of the establishment pointing at the security guard and Tagabuel, who was in the parking lot of Cool Laundry.
In the footage, Tagabuel was seen approaching Kasian, pushing him, and pointing toward the exit. But Kasian refused to leave and said “relax” about four times to Tagabuel.
Tagabuel then punched Kasian in the face. Kasian fell to the ground and hit his head. He appeared to be unconscious. Tagabuel slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but Kasian did not wake up. Tagabuel again slapped Kasian’s cheeks twice, but the victim remained unconscious. Tagabuel then carried Kasian to the stairway near the entrance to Cool Laundry where five to six people came to look at the victim for a few seconds and later walked away.
On Jan. 18, 2024, Dr. Phillip Dauterman of CHCC conducted an autopsy on the victim’s body. Dauterman said the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head with skull fracture and traumatic brain injuries.
