photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Javier Isidro Romero is pictured during a hearing on April 18, 2023, in Douglas County District Court. Romero is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Christian Willis, 21, of Wichita, on Sept. 8, 2021.

A murder trial for two men was continued on Tuesday after an attorney for one of the defendants was allowed to withdraw less than two weeks before the trial was scheduled to begin.

The men, Javier Isidro Romero, 19, and Andrel Darnell Spates Jr., 21, both of Lawrence, are each charged with one count of murder in the first degree in connection with the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Christian Willis, of Wichita, on Sept. 8, 2021, in the 1500 block of Kentucky Street. They were scheduled to go to trial on May 1.

Romero’s defense attorney, Dakota Loomis, moved to withdraw Tuesday because Romero had requested that Loomis be removed from the case and Romero had filed a formal complaint against him with the Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator. Loomis said he was informed of the complaint and motion only on March 30.

Loomis told the court Tuesday that he could not set aside the fact that Romero had filed the complaint against him, but Loomis did not add any details as to the nature of the complaint. Loomis said that given the severity of Romero’s charges it was crucial that Romero have an attorney in whom he had confidence.

Judge Stacey Donovan granted Loomis’ withdrawal and told Romero that a change of attorney came with no guarantees about compatibility.

“It falls on you to communicate effectively with your attorney,” Donovan said.

Donovan then scheduled Romero for a status conference on April 25 to give the court time to identify a new attorney who does not have any kind of conflict in the case.

Donovan then turned to Karen Ebmeier, who is co-counsel, along with Adam Hall, for Spates and scheduled a conference for later in the afternoon to determine whether Spates wished to go to trial in May without Romero.

photo by: Dylan Lysen/Lawrence Journal-World

Andrel D. Spates, Jr., appears in Douglas County District Court on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021.

Hall said during that conference that separating the defendants’ cases for trial would “materially affect the defense strategy” that was prepared. He then requested the trial be continued until new counsel for Romero is named and that attorney has time to get up to speed on the case.

Hall said that he would also like time to review additional evidence that was presented at a hearing for Spates last week and that he was working on getting an out-of-state witness secured to testify at trial, which would require additional scheduling.

On April 13, Hall argued that the autopsy report for Willis should be excluded from evidence because the doctor, John W. Ralston, who prepared it, has died and would not be able to testify about the report and his findings. Ralston died in November 2022.

Douglas County Coroner and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Altaf Hossain with Forensic Medical in Kansas City, Kansas, testified during the hearing that the majority of the autopsy report was just data that Ralston had collected and that there were not any unusual or specific findings that Ralston made.

Hossain said he could testify as to the findings based on that data and that it was clear how Willis died, by gunshot. He added that it would be unrealistic to say that all of the criminal cases connected to Ralston’s work as a medical examiner should be dismissed because of his death. Donovan ruled that the autopsy would be admitted.

On Tuesday, Donovan scheduled a status conference for June 12 for the parties to decide when a new trial could be set. She asked Spates if he was OK with the continuance. Spates appeared via Zoom from the jail.

“So long as I don’t have to come to court until then,” Spates said.

As the Journal-World reported, Romero and Spates are also each charged with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Spates’ attorney filed a motion for immunity in December of 2021 that alleged Willis had come to Lawrence with the intent of robbing Spates and Romero under the guise of purchasing a half pound of marijuana and that Spates shot and killed Willis only after Willis fired a gun at Romero. That motion for immunity was denied.

Spates also faces an additional count of criminal possession of a firearm as he was a felon at the time of the shooting. He was convicted of attempted aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery for a 2019 juvenile case, according to court records. He was sentenced a week prior to the Willis killing to time served, records show.

Both Spates and Romero are being held in the Douglas County Jail on a $1 million bond.