Trial date is set in fondling case

The trial date has been set for a 28-year-old transient man charged with one count of lewdness with a child under the age of 14.Jason Bender, 28, was arraigned in district court Monday morning and pleaded not guilty. Judge James Russell set the trial for June 4-7. Bender is accused of fondling a 6-year-old girl at a Carson City residence in September.He had been bound over to district court on Dec. 10 on the lewdness charge after a preliminary hearing in which the girl testified. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 10 years if Bender were to be found guilty.Also in court:• Judge James Russell granted a motion Monday morning in a drug trafficking case to try two defendants separately, rather than together.Jose Garcia-Gaona’s trial is still set to start on Feb. 6, but his former co-defendant, Francisco Solis-Ledezma, will have his trial from April 30 to May 3.Russell said having one trial created a risk for an unfair trail for Solis-Ledezma.The two men were arrested Aug. 4 along with a third man after allegedly retrieving a bag filled with more than a pound of methamphetamine crystals from the trunk of an impounded car.Charges against the third man were dropped on Oct. 9 in justice court.