Trial for Danny Oates case delayed to August

The trial for Jeffrey Woods, the man charged with killing 14-year-old Danny Oates nearly two years ago while driving and texting under the influence of Xanax and Vicodin, has been scheduled for Aug. 17.

At a pretrial Friday, Judge James Stotler granted a request by Woods’ defense attorney, Scott Well, to delay the trial date from June 26. The jury trial is scheduled to take place 9 a.m. at Orange County Superior Court.

Well said the extra time is necessary for the defense to prepare its case. He said the medications Woods was allegedly on were not necessarily inhibitors of his judgment.

Well said his desired outcome isn’t complicated: “Justice. One word. It’s very simple.”

Both the defense and the prosecution tagged the same word for their goal as to the outcome of the trial, but had different meanings behind it.

“Ultimately, what we’d like to see is justice for the victim,” said Farrah Emami, the district attorney’s spokeswoman. “He was 14. His life was taken from him.”