There are several larger and more prominent criminal court cases on the docket in Decatur County for later this summer and the fall of 2014.
True bills of indictment for the grand jury of Decatur County were released earlier this month, showing three major cases are set to go to court. These cases include Bryan Lamar Harrell, who is being tried for vehicular homicide, Kenneth Wayne Meredith, who is being tried for child molestation and child exploitation, and a theft case where $10,000 worth of goods was reportedly pillaged from boats.
District Attorney Joe Mulholland said these cases would be mostly concluded by November 2014.
“The judges in our circuit really like to push the calendar and do not like for cases to just sit for more than a year,” Mulholland said. “So the vast majority of the cases will be concluded by either August or November in the upcoming fall term by either a plea deal, a trial or some kind of motion filed by the defense for a dismissal.”
Mullholland said the biggest case on the docket is one involving vehicular homicide and driving under the influence in an accident where a four-year-old was killed.
Bryan Lamar Harrell was indicted May 12 for the death of Remington Cole Walden.
March 6, 2012, Harrell reportedly rear-ended a Jeep Cherokee that was turning left onto Hubert Dollar Drive.
According the indictment Walden was a passenger in the vehicle that was hit. The Cherokee spun into a ditch a hit a utility pole, then caught fire. The driver of the vehicle, Walden’s aunt, was able to escape the flames, but the four-year-old was trapped inside.
Harrell is also charged with driving under the influence of Alprazolam, a drug commonly known as Xanax.
The second case of importance on the docket for later this year will be the case involving several defendants who are charged with pillaging several boats in Decatur County, stealing $10,000 worth of items.
Thomas Heath Bramblett, Boen Alan Brock and Austin Dean Ellis were indicted May 12 for five counts of Burglary in the second degree.
The three are accused of stealing fishing equipment and boating equipment.
Mulholland said the third largest case involves defendant Kenneth Wayne Meredith who was indicted May 12 for child molestation, criminal attempt to commit a felony and nine counts of sexual exploitation of children.
According to the indictment, Meredith had nine explicit, nude photos of a child younger than 14 on his phone and is accused of touching a female under the age of 16 inappropriately. Meredith’s arraignment will be June 26 and his trial is set to begin August 4.
There are more than 40 cases with true bills this month, and Mulholland said that is not because there is more crime than normal in Bainbridge.
“We have more cases in Decatur but we also have more law enforcement officers than surrounding areas, so there isn’t more crime — more people are being caught because you have so many more deputies working the streets,” Mulholland said.