Ottawa manslaughter case headed back to trial

Mason Shannon, the Iowa man charged with manslaughter in a 2017 rural Ottawa death, is going back to trial. A judge refused Tuesday to throw out his charge.

New trial dates have not been scheduled. Shannon’s lawyers asked for time to let Shannon decide whether to opt for retrial by judge or jury. Visiting Judge William Dickenson agreed and set a July 10 status date, at which time he will schedule a do-over trial in La Salle County Circuit Court.

“It’s also my opinion that there’s not enough for a due process violation requiring dismissal.”

—  Judge William Dickenson

Shannon, now 48, of Newton, Iowa was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for placing Michael Castelli of Ottawa into a chokehold during a struggle outside the Bonnie Plants growing facility. Shannon was convicted but, before sentencing could take place, he successfully argued for new trial over a procedural problem.

Shannon’s lawyers have since tried to avoid a do-over trial, asking the courts to simply dismiss the manslaughter charge. In the latest attempt, the defense argued La Salle County prosecutors bungled the pre-trial handling of witnesses and witness statements and this deprived Shannon of his rights to due process.

Tuesday, Dickenson disagreed and threw out the motion to dismiss. Dickenson ruled some of the pre-trial activity “was perhaps at best unorthodox and at worst sloppy,” but it wouldn’t keep Shannon from getting a fair trial at round 2.

“It’s also my opinion that there’s not enough for a due process violation requiring dismissal,” Dickenson said.

The La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office withdrew from the case in 2020 so lawyers from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Shannon could face up to five years in prison.