The trial for a Sioux Falls man charged with getting young girls drunk in his now closed bar and sexually assaulting them will stay in Beadle County. Werner Fajardo’s attorney Carmen Means withdrew her motion to move the trial based on the results of a phone survey. Judge Jon Erickson said that after reviewing the survey that was authorized, it did not address pre-trial publicity saying the coverage of the case so far has been benign. The judge went on to say that no matter where the case was moved the publicity behind it would follow. On the subject of media coverage, a request by at least two media outlets including Performance Radio and KELO-TV for expanded electronic media coverage was partially denied. Means objected to use of video recording and would object to audio recordings too, but said she believed she didn’t have a say in the audio decision. Expanded media coverage rules allow for the judge to make a decision on the use of audio only, if video is not unanimously approved by all court participants. Beadle County States Attorney Mike Moore only objected to allowing juvenile witnesses testimony to be recorded. A ruling from Erickson on audio is likely this afternoon. Jury questionnaires will be sent out beginning tomorrow. Fajardo’s trial on 15 charges of sex crimes and alcohol violations is set to begin August 15th.
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