The man accused of fatally shooting two men at Chico’s public library this year has waived his right to a preliminary hearing, clearing the way for the case to move toward trial in Butte County Superior Court.
Bradley Scott Sayer’s preliminary hearing — where a judge typically decides whether there’s enough evidence for a felony case to proceed — was scheduled to start Tuesday.
Instead, Sayer signed the waiver in court before Judge Kristen Lucena. She set his next arraignment for Nov. 12, when Sayer is again expected to enter a plea to the charges.
Outside of court, Sayer’s attorney, Roberto Marquez, said the preliminary hearing was waived because it could have been “detrimental” to Sayer’s defense moving forward.
Marquez said he has a large amount of evidence to review and is doing his own investigatory work “that will take a while.”
“I’m still not prepared — anywhere near prepared — to go to trial yet,” he said.
Sayer is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in the June 22 shooting at the Chico branch of the Butte County Library. He faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors have said Sayer, 18, developed a fascination with mass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre. The FBI has said Sayer wore clothing during the library attack that appeared to reference one of the Columbine shooters.
Sayer appeared in court Tuesday wearing a green suicide-prevention vest. Marquez said he’s on suicide watch at the jail.
“He’s had a lot of emotional distress,” Marquez said. “The jail’s doing the appropriate thing to take care of him, make sure that he can’t do any self-harm.”
Marquez added that the preventative measures are not because Sayer feels “picked on” in jail.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Bennett said outside of court that she expects Sayer to again plead not guilty when he returns to court in November.
Bennett said trial dates may also be set then.
The proceedings are “actually moving — despite what some people might think — quite quickly for a criminal case,” she said.
