A trial date for Kari Abbey, the former Stanislaus County sheriff’s detective, has been set for September.
Abbey is facing charges of conspiracy to forcibly enter a home, embezzlement from a government entity, cultivating marijuana, and permitting a child to be endangered.
A trial date has been set for Sept. 25.
Abbey was initially facing charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the death of Rita Elias. Abbey was accused of gunning down Elias on Sept. 24, 2010, after attempts to evict her from the Donald Street property owned by Abbey’s father turned into a physical altercation between the two women. At one point Elias went back into the home and came back out with a branch in her left hand and a gun in the right. Abbey fired at Elias, striking her multiple times. It was later revealed Elias was holding a BB gun.
At the conclusion of Abbey’s preliminary hearing a judge ruled there was enough evidence to support the theory that Abbey believed Elias’ threat to get a gun posed a very real danger to herself, her father and her two children present at the scene and that she was entitled to take action to protect them.