Sept. 28, 2006 — The trial of Officer Joel Dowdye, the VIPD detective charged with murdering ex-girlfriend Sherett James and injuring her companion Daryl "Bogle" Stevens, has been pushed back until Feb. 20.
During a status hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge Brenda Hollar heard statements from both the prosecution and the defense relative to how the case has been developing.
Hollar had recently set the trial date for Oct. 30.
Defense attorney Stephen Brusch said he would not be "prepared to proceed" with the case if it was heard in October. Brusch explained that there is still "expert" testimony he has to explore.
Hollar was surprised when Brusch suggested a February trial date and reminded him that Dowdye, who has been denied bail, would continue to "sit in jail" until the trial begins. "I know that my client will be sitting in jail, but it's better to be prepared for trial then rush the issue," Brush said.
Hollar was even more surprised when prosecuting attorney Nolan Paige said it would take him about a week to present his case.
Paige said the prosecution had originally estimated that it would take about two weeks for all the witnesses to be questioned during the trial. "We have a number of witnesses, including expert testimony," he said.
Paige assured Hollar that witnesses called by the prosecution during the trial would not "be repetitive" in their testimony.
Brusch said it would take the defense between two and three days to make its case.
Hollar requested that both the defense and prosecution submit a list of witnesses by Nov. 13.
"I can't see that case taking two weeks," Hollar said. "And you know I'm not going to sit here listening to five and six witnesses all saying the same thing. I need a list of the witnesses that will be called, and what kind of testimony they will be providing, whether you need them to provide expert testimony or to be a rebuttal witness."
Based on the timeline provided by the defense, Hollar set the trial date for Feb. 20, with jury selection beginning Feb. 16.
When Hollar asked whether the prosecution would be "changing the venue" for the trial, Paige said that moving the case to St. Croix could be a consideration since the trial has been pushed back.
After the hearing, Paige said the prosecution had originally sought to move the case to St. Croix but had not pursued the request since the trial was scheduled for the end of October. "Now that the date has been moved back, however, we can consider it again," he said.
During the hearing, Hollar said Dowdye would have until Nov. 27 to change his plea.
She also scheduled another status hearing for Dec.11 to "make sure everything's on track."
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
