Second District Judge Jay Gaskill is considering whether to join the trials of the father and son accused of the January first-degree murder of Samuel Johns in Lewiston.

Gaskill heard arguments Thursday from Chief Criminal Deputy Nez Perce County Prosecutor April Smith in favor of the state’s motion to join the trials of Clyde Ewing, 43, and Demetri Ewing, 16, for the sake of efficiency. Smith said that both Ewings allegedly participated in the same crime, that the state will call the same witnesses and present identical evidence in each case.

Clyde Ewing’s defense attorney, Rick Cuddihy, has filed an objection to joining the cases and a peremptory motion to sever them in the event that they are joined. At Thursday’s hearing, he argued that the Idaho Supreme Court has found that cases can be joined as long as maximum trial convenience is consistent with minimum prejudice for the defendants. But Cuddihy cited studies that show defendants who are tried together are more likely to be convicted than those who are tried separately, automatically creating unfair prejudice.

On the issue of whether joining the cases would make the subsequent legal proceedings more convenient, Cuddihy argued that only two non-expert or non-law enforcement witnesses testified at the Ewings’ preliminary hearings. As far as the inconvenience to jurors, if there were two trials, he said a joined trial would likely take twice as long as two separate trials.

“If you don’t get efficiency, what’s the point of consolidating?” Cuddihy said.

Demetri Ewing’s attorney, Lawrence Moran, told the judge that while he hasn’t filed an objection to joining the cases, he agreed with Cuddihy’s points. Gaskill didn’t indicate exactly when he would make a decision, but said one would come “in due haste.”

The Ewings are accused of riding their bicycles to Johns’ Seventh Avenue residence in the middle of the night, invading the home while wearing dark clothing and masks, and shooting Johns to death in his living room, possibly over a dispute about stolen property. They then allegedly fled the scene. No murder weapon has been found, but the prosecution has presented evidence from video surveillance cameras that allegedly tracks two individuals from the Ewings’ Bridge Street motel room in Clarkston to the vicinity of Johns’ residence at the time of the shooting, and then back to the motel.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.