YUMA, AZ -- A Feb. 16 trial date has been set for a former U.S. Marine private charged in the shooting death of a Yuma woman eight months ago.
Joseph Andrew Mandel was expected to plead guilty to one count of negligent homicide at a change of plea hearing Friday in Yuma County Superior Court. But when he did not do so, a judge went ahead and set the trial date.
Authorities say the 22-year-old Mandel can still plead guilty to the negligent homicide charge under the terms of the plea agreement, but at some point prosecution can withdraw it.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Kezia Clinkscales died at Yuma Regional Medical Center after being shot in her apartment on Feb. 6.
Mandel, of Sugarland, Texas, is out of custody after posting more than $20,000 bond in May.
At the time of the shooting, Mandel was a vehicle mechanic stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, where he had been since November 2006.
