Cedar Rapids, Ia (AP)- A judge has refused to move the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting two 18-year-olds in a vehicle at a Cedar Rapids parking lot. Andre Richardson has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the May 18 slayings of Matrell Johnson and Royal Abram. Richardson’s lawyer said at an Oct. 25 hearing that extensive media reports of the slayings and subsequent investigation made it impossible for Richardson to get a fair trial in Linn County. Judge Ian Thornhill acknowledged in a ruling filed Tuesday that the media reports were pervasive, but he said Richardson’s defense hadn’t proved any impact on potential jurors.
