Tuesday’s scheduled start of the Marco Topete trial was delayed at least two weeks after one of his attorneys suffered a small stroke over the weekend.

Tom Purtell, 83, was instructed by his doctor not to make any decisions about the case for a week, Purtell’s co-counsel Hayes Gable III told Yolo Superior Court Judge Paul Richardson this morning, according to minutes of the hearing posted on the court’s website this afternoon.

Gable also said he was “unable to proceed” with final jury selection today and opening statements Tuesday under the circumstances, according to the minutes. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, to discuss the status of the case, a DA spokeswoman said.

Topete, 38, is accused of fatally shooting Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Jose “Tony” Diaz following a June 15, 2008, vehicle pursuit in the rural town of Dunnigan.

A pool of about 85 potential jurors who have been deemed qualified to hear the death-penalty case have been instructed to return to court May 3, with opening statements tentatively scheduled for the following day if Purtell is able to continue representing Topete.

If not, Gable told Richardson it could take at least two months for an alternate attorney to be brought up to speed in the case. The trial is expected to last several months.

Jury selection in the case has been ongoing since March 7. The current jury pool will be whittled down to 12 jurors and six alternates once the case proceeds.

— Reach Lauren Keene at [email protected] or (530) 747-8048.

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