A Carson City man convicted two years ago of orchestrating the attempted murder of his wife was back in court Monday for the first time since the Nevada Supreme Court ordered a new trial.
Allen Dwight Wood, now 36, was found guilty in a Carson City courtroom in 1997 of persuading Brian Bardin and Justin Anderson, both 15 at the time, to break into Lisa Wood's residence and slash her throat as she slept. She survived the wound.
In all, seven teenagers were implicated, but only Bardin has served hard time. He was sentenced to five years for inflicting the wound on Lisa Wood's throat. Because of the threat of perjury, immunity was given to several of the boys in the original trial.
Monday's trial setting was delayed pending a motion by defense attorney Kay Ellen Armstrong to disqualify Judge Michael Griffin from the case. Because Griffin heard the original case, Judge Michael Fondi will decide whether he will be able to rule without prejudice.
If there are no disruptions in the case, Wood will be back in court for trial on Feb. 29.
The state Supreme Court in December sent Wood's case back to district court for retrial in December. It ruled that a third-person account of Bardin bragging about Wood's plans for his wife's murder should not have been allowed by Griffin during the first round.
