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Dooley retrial moved back to February, common thread with Shayna Hubers case a factor in the delay


By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

As Shayna Hubers awaited her fate in a Campbell County Courtroom Tuesday, David Wayne Dooley learned his retrial has been moved back to February, in part because of a common thread in the two cases.

David Wayne Dooley is led from a Boone County Courtroom Tuesday after learning his retrial has been moved back to February 18. Dooley, who was convicted of killing Michelle Mockbee in 2012, was granted a new trial last year (photo by Mark Hansel).

Hubers was originally convicted of murder in the October, 2012 killing her boyfriend, Ryan Poston, in 2015.

She was granted a new trial in October, 2016, however, because one of the jurors in that trial failed to reveal a felony conviction.

The Hubers retrial began earlier this month and a jury found her guilty of murder Tuesday evening. That jury began deliberations to deliver a sentencing recommendation this morning.

David Wayne Dooley was convicted of the May, 2012 killing of Michelle Mockbee, at the Thermo-Fisher Scientific plant in Boone County where both worked, in 2014.

Dooley was granted a new trial in May 2017, when it was determined evidence that might have aided in his defense was withheld from his attorneys.

The Dooley retrial was originally scheduled to begin September 17 .

The link between Dooley and Hubers that contributed to the delay is attorney Jeff Lawson.

Lawson is a member of the Shayna Hubers defense team. He is also co-counsel for the defense in the Dooley retrial, along with attorney Deanna Dennison.

His participation in the Hubers trial made it impossible for him to adequately aid in the preparation of Dooley’s defense in adherence with the September trial date.

Initially, it seemed there would be no conflict, as the Hubers retrial was scheduled for Sept. 18, 2017, almost a year ago to the day that Dooley’s trial was set to begin.

Despite efforts to adhere to the original Sept. 17 trial date, Boone Circuit Judge James R. Schrand acquiesced Tuesday and rescheduled the start of the David Wayne Dooley trial to February of next year (file photo).

The Hubers trial was delayed several times, however, and it became clear a few months ago that the two proceedings were on a collision course.

Boone Circuit Judge James R. Schrand was determined to keep the original trial date for the Dooley proceeding and took unusual steps to try to preserve the date, to no avail.

Schrand presided over Dooley’s original trial, the CR 60.02 hearing that resulted in the conviction being overturned, and he will be on the bench for the retrial.

Schrand began to schedule pretrial hearings every few weeks to get updates on the progress of the evidence gathering in hopes of avoiding a delay.

Dooley’s defense team was having trouble getting information regarding DNA evidence from a lab, so Schrand adjourned a July 30 hearing and called the president of the company to expedite the delivery of the evidence.

Because of the delay, however, a DNA expert hired by the defense team was out of town and not available to examine the evidence, when it was finally produced, until just few days ago.

In addition, Lawson is the member or the Dooley defense team assigned to work with the expert on the DNA evidence. Because that evidence was not made available until after the Hubers case began, Lawson has had no opportunity to work with the expert on preparing that part of Dooley’s defense.

At an August 14 pretrial hearing, Schrand instructed Dennison to call Lawson during a break in the Hubers trial to see if there was any way he could be prepared for the September trial.

Lawson said he did not think that was possible.

Neither Dooley’s attorneys, nor Jon Heck, a special prosecutor with the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General assigned to prosecute the case, objected to a delay.

Schrand, however, wanted to make every attempt to adhere to the original trial schedule.

He expressed concerns that a crowded court docket would force the trial to be moved to next year and that Dooley, no longer convicted of a crime, has been in jail since 2012.

Dooley’s attorneys requested a reduction in the $1 million bond set for their client in September, but that motion was denied, virtually assuring he would remain in jail until the trial.

Following a recent pretrial conference call, Schrand finally acquiesced and agreed to set a new trial date.

The trial is now scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on February 18, which is President’s Day, but court will be in session.

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com


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