Preparations for the trial of the man accused of killing a St. Thomas police detective in 2023 are moving ahead, although the latest trial date of Oct. 28 was taken off the docket at U.S. District Court. The latest step toward the pending trial of Richardson Dangleben Jr. was taken on Friday when his legal team met the deadline for filing its list of expert witnesses.
Dangleben is accused of fatally shooting Detective Delberth Phipps Jr. during an armed confrontation in Hospital Ground on July 4, 2023. In addition to the local charge of first-degree murder and assault, Dangleben also faces federal charges of possessing a machine gun and drugs while committing a violent crime resulting in death.
In the latest step towards a pending trial on Friday, Federal Public Defender Matthew Campbell filed a notice regarding expert disclosures. In that notice, Campbell said consultations with “a number” of possible expert witnesses had occurred and choices were made about which would appear on Dangleben’s behalf. All but one of those experts had completed the qualifications required for their appearances, Dangleben’s lawyer said.
The defense counsel also told the court he consulted with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Conley about the expert witness list. Campbell said the government signaled there were no objections to the choices made by the defense.
All of the steps described were taken to comply with the court’s Oct. 4 deadline to submit the expert witness list. “With the exception of that one outstanding area of expert consultation, the parties are prepared to comply with existing deadlines relating to expert disclosures and motions,” the defense attorney said.
An omnibus hearing to address all pending motions in the Dangleben murder case is scheduled for Jan. 15-16, 2025; the Oct. 28 trial date was suspended in August to allow for scheduling of the January hearing. Once that hearing is completed, the court is expected to set a new trial date. Pretrial proceedings formerly assigned to U.S. Magistrate Ruth Miller have been reassigned to the newly-appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Teague.
If found guilty at trial, Dangleben faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.
