Motions hearing for murder suspect held Monday
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After the Kansas Supreme Court recently denied the state a review in its appeal of Judge Tim Chamber’s decision to suppress some statements made in the murder case against Billy Craig Jr., the case was back in District Court Monday morning for pre-trial motions. Craig is accused of being involved in the murder of Jennifer Heckel back on June 14, 2011.
The first issue taken up by the court was the state’s desire to present the defendant’s prior criminal history at trial. That was denied by the judge.
Judge Chambers also decided that, because of the high profile nature and the publicity surrounding this case, including the coverage of the first trial involving the co-defendant Charles Christopher Logsdon, they’ll have potential jurors come in early and fill out a questionnaire. That will be on the Friday before the trial begins in late January. Jury selection is expected to begin on Jan. 27, however, the two sides would go over the jury questionnaires on Monday, Jan. 26.
There were also questions about the interviews conducted in association with this case. Defense Attorney Greg Bell wants an updated list of video and audio the state intends to use at trial. The state said it needs to know what, if anything, the defense would want redacted from those interviews. Judge Tim Chambers ordered the state to have a list for the defense in the next 30 days. The defense would then need to have any objections and anything it wants redacted noted by Jan. 16.
Judge Chambers believes they can have the jury selected in one to two days, but will have the selection actually occur in the larger courtroom where Judge Trish Rose normally has proceedings. But, the trial itself will occur in his courtroom.
Craig, along with Charles Christopher Logsdon, allegedly went to Heckel’s home and killed her while her young son was in the next room listening. Logsdon was convicted in the murder case and sentenced to 73 years in prison.
She was killed in what the state says was a case of mistaken identity.
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Ford County murder suspect waives hearing in local case
Victor Gutierrez
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The 26-year-old man arrested here in Reno County after a high-speed chase because of his suspected involvement with a murder in Ford County waived his right to a preliminary hearing in the flee and elude case here.
Victor Gutierrez is charged with criminal possession of a firearm, felony flee and elude and possession of cocaine. He allegedly led law enforcement here in a high-speed chase with speeds as high as 150 miles per hour. The chase reportedly ended at U.S. 50 and Mayfield Road, where he pulled over and was taken into custody without incident.
There was some concern on his attorney’s part because he has yet to make an appearance in Ford County on the charges there. And, because of the case here being connected to that case, she wanted him to at least have an attorney assigned in Ford County so they kind of know where to go with the case here. The state didn’t object to the defendant waiving his preliminary hearing, which was done in front of Magistrate Judge Randy McEwen. The case was then transferred to Judge Trish Rose where he entered a “not guilty” plea.
In addition to the murder charge, Guttierrez is also charged in Ford County with aggravated endangerment of a child, criminal possession of a firearm by a felon and defacing identification marks of a firearm. The charges in Ford County come after police there responded to a home back on Sept. 23 and found 30-year-old Natasha Pruitt dead of a gun shot wound.
Bond in the local case is only $20,000 and his attorney wanted an O.R. bond so he can be taken back to Ford County and assigned an attorney there. Bond there is $250,000 and Defense Attorney Kelly Driscoll argued that they can put a hold on him in the Reno County case once he goes back to Ford County. But, Judge Rose denied the request, so the bond here remains.
Because he was arraigned on the charges, the local case will be scheduled for a possible jury trial.
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Former prison guard bound over for unlawful sexual relations
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A former prison guard at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility east unit was in court Monday for a preliminary hearing and was bound over on a charge of unlawful sexual relations.
Tammy J. Leckliter is alleged to have had sex with a 31-year-old inmate who’s serving time out of Saline County for two counts of aggravated burglary and two counts of kidnapping. He has since been moved from the east unit back to the central unit of the prison because of this incident. The alleged crime occurred here on Dec. 11, 2013.
The charge is a level five person felony with a sentencing range of 31 to 136 months in prison. Formal arraignment will come the first Monday in December.