Shootings

Lawyer for Berkeley man shot by police has asked to withdraw

Judge David Pereda rejected the request, saying the attorney must continue to represent Ricardo Ruiz — at least for now.

Private surveillance camera footage released by BPD shows police move in after shooting a man during a domestic violence investigation in April. BPD

The attorney for a man shot by Berkeley police during a recent domestic violence call says she wants off the case, in part because he hasn't paid his bills, court papers show.

On Monday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge David Pereda rejected the request, saying the attorney must continue to represent Ricardo Ruiz — at least for now.

Ruiz is facing a long list of felony charges, including assault on a peace officer, 12 counts of exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer and four counts of unlawful firearm activity, from the April 13 incident.

Ruiz, 34, who remains in custody without bail, has refused to "waive time," meaning the prosecution must hold a preliminary hearing for him within the next week.

During the hearing, the prosecution is required to present key evidence in the case so a judge can determine whether it should proceed to trial.

Most defendants do waive time, particularly in complex cases with a lot of evidence. But that doesn't always happen.

After his arrest, Ruiz retained Danville attorney Jyoti Rekhi to represent him.

In a recent motion, she said she had been hired to handle the case "up to preliminary hearing" in exchange for a fixed fee under a contract signed April 30.

Since then, she wrote, Ruiz had "not made his payments in full" — and had not asked her to handle the preliminary hearing.

Ricardo Ruiz in his most recent booking photo from the Berkeley Police Department. *BPD*

According to her motion, Ruiz said he now wants the Alameda County public defender's office to represent him.

In a hearing Monday, Deputy District Attorney James Logan objected to the defense motion, which the judge ultimately rejected.

That's because, if Ruiz continues to refuse to waive time, it's not possible for a new attorney to get up to speed in time for the important hearing, which is currently set for Friday.

Ruiz refused to attend court Monday — but he did appear before the judge Tuesday morning.

Rekhi declined to comment about the decision this week.

TBS will continue to follow the case.

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