Story by Nigel Walton, contributing writer
A June 1, 2020, trial date has been set in the criminal case against Marshall County High School shooting suspect, Gabriel Parker.
Tom Griffiths, Parker’s defense attorney, said he expects the trial to last upwards of 30 days.
The trial date was set by Judge Jamey Jameson on Friday, March 8, during Parker’s latest status hearing. Although the date was set in Marshall County, a request for a change of venue is expected to be filed in the coming weeks by the defense.
“I think it would be very difficult, actually no, I think it would be impossible in this community where this happened for everyone to set aside what they know and what they went through in order to sit on a trial like this,” Griffiths said. “I don’t think it’s fair to the citizens of Marshall County. I don’t think it’s fair to my client.”
Commonwealth’s Attorney Dennis Foust said there are a number of factors that determine a change of venue request.
“Anytime in this jurisdiction when you are looking at a change of venue, one of the things that you look at are areas that are not covered by the media who covers these things regularly,” Foust said. “Your local newspapers, your local television stations, your local radio stations, you would want to find a jurisdiction that doesn’t hear as much publicity on this particular matter.”
Parker is charged with two counts of murder and 14 counts of 1st degree assault.
Griffiths said one thing that is great about working with Foust is the communication between the two offices, which streamlines the pre-trial process.
“Actually, today was a great example of that because every single topic that was on there, we had already discussed, we had already reached whatever resolution we could,” Griffiths said.
Although yet another year will pass before the case heads to trial, Foust advises the Marshall County community to be patient.
“Unfortunately, justice does sometimes move slowly but the system eventually works,” Foust said. “We are working diligently to bring this matter to a close as quickly as we can.”
Parker’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 17.
