Judge Rules to Keep Stewart Trial Here
Robert Kenneth Stewart in court for a hearing last year. Glenn M. Sides
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The man accused of multiple nursing home murders will face trial in Moore County. Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb denied a defense motion to move the capital murder trial of Robert Kenneth Stewart to another county. He will move jury selection, however
The defendant “failed to show that there exists in Moore County so great a prejudice against the defendant that he cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial,” Webb said in his ruling. “…due to pretrial publicity in Moore County, the venue for the limited purpose of jury selection should be transferred to another county.”
He denied a defense motion to continue a safekeeping order housing Stewart in Raleigh. The defendant will remain in the Moore County Detention Center now.
Webb is frustrated by the time it is taking to set a date for trial. Defense lawyers Jonathan Megerian and Franklin Wells of Ashboro have an older capital case in Randolph County. They represent a 74-year-old woman, Melba Slayton, who was charged along with her son, Ronald Gibbs, for the murder of her husband, Robert Slayton, after investigators discovered his body buried on the family property.
The two were arrested in Alamagordo, N.Mex., and extradited to stand trial in Randolph County. Other attorneys are to defend Gibbs, but Megerian and Wells were appointed to defend her. It is also a capital case, and Megerian told the court that he and Wells have also filed a change-of-venue motion in that case.
No date for any hearing on their Slayton case change-of-venue motion has been set as far as he knows, Megerian said. He estimated trial of her case would last about six weeks: two for jury selection and four for trial.
“You gentlemen want to know which will be tried first?” Webb said. “Court is contemplating asking the chief justice of the state for a special setting of Superior Court for April 11.”
District Attorney Garland Yates told them he planned to try in the spring, Megerian said, but Yates has not requested a special session yet.
“This is illustrative of this court’s major concern of delay, delay, delay in setting that case for trial,” Webb said.
The case did move one step closer with the court allowing a motion by District Attorney Maureen Krueger to have Stewart evaluated as to his mental condition at the time of the alleged offense. Defense lawyer Jonathan Megerian objected.
"For the state to move to examine our defendant for a defense we have not yet raised is really putting the cart before the horse,” Megerian said. “We expect to go to trial on another capital case a few months from now.”
Dix hospital in Raleigh is set to close, and prosecutor Peter Strickland said mental health experts there want to do any evaluations of Stewart after their move to Butner.
“Do you anticipate that your client will be evaluated by mental health experts before Dec. 31, 2010 ?" Webb asked the defense. "Are they ongoing now?”
Franklin Wells said he thought the defense would have its examinations done by Jan. 15, 2011. That would tie in with the earliest time for state experts to do their 90-day examinations at the new site, prosecutors said. Webb allowed the state’s motion.
Jail administrator Eddie Johnson took the stand to testify as Webb heard evidence on the question of whether to sign another safekeeping order and return Stewart to the custody of the Department of Corrections. He said Stewart has been safe and cooperative during the past nine days or so while he’d been in the jail during hearings in his case.
“We have him in one of our segregated cells about 30 feet from our booking desk,” Johnson said. “He as been on four (scheduled) checks every hour, but he really gets checked 20 times an hour. He has calmed down; he has been cooperative with us.”
Johnson told the court it had cost Moore County taxpayers some $54,000 for medical bills and housing the defendant at State Prison, because he is being kept in the mental health section of the state prison in Raleigh under terms of earlier safekeeping orders.
“I paid $3,000 a month for the last 18 months,” Johnson said. “The state charges $83 a day, and I could house him just as well for $63 a day.”
Normally, the DOC would only have charged Moore County $18 a day for safekeeping, but housing Stewart in the mental health ward upped the price, Johnson testified.
Webb shook his head, then made findings of fact and law that will keep the defendant in Carthage until trial – except for any required trips out for mental health evaluation or jury selection in a yet-to-be-determined county.
“There is no longer a need to house the defendant at a state facility; the defendant shall remain in Moore County pending trial,” Webb ruled. “The defense may renew its motion (for a safekeeping order) if the defendant’s attorney becomes aware of a change of circumstances.”
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Comments
Arestorer 2 years, 7 months ago
Thank you, Your Honour!! Webb ROCKS!!
babiehop 2 years, 7 months ago
Good call.
clbvpm 2 years, 7 months ago
A good decision.
weteachers2 2 years, 7 months ago
The families of those victims need some closure to this whole thing. Regardless of his mental condition at the time, the victims are not coming back.
Let's move forward and serve justice.
buddysmith 2 years, 7 months ago
anybody noticed this guy appears to have gotten fatter since his arrest?
None 2 years, 7 months ago
"“Do you anticipate that your client will be evaluated by mental health experts before Dec. 31, 2010 ?" Webb asked the defense. “Are they ongoing now?”
I wonder what has taken over a year for Stewarts' defense team to wait until January 2011? Sandbagging perhaps...or running the taxpayer court appointed attorney clock? If those attorney's aren't ready in January, knowing Judge Webb as I do, he will start the trial with or without them and then hold them in contempt! Attorney's don't run his court....
Zoey 2 years, 7 months ago
buddysmith says...
"anybody noticed this guy appears to have gotten fatter"
Stewart or the bailiff ?
my3cents 2 years, 7 months ago
There is an older (maybe more than one) murder case in Moore county that keeps getting delayed. Maybe I should get Judge Webb on this one too. Stewarts case may even have postponed the one I speak of. You're a good man Judge Webb, don't let them keep running up bills for us to pay!
GoldenDreams 2 years, 7 months ago
Buddysmith, Stewart sure has gotten fatter and I'll bet it's because he's on anti-depressants, and all on tax paper money. Makes you sick, doesn't it?
OldSpook 2 years, 7 months ago
KA-CHING!!! I can just hear the defense lawyers now, "Oh, we mu$t po$tpone the a$$e$$ment to give our client a fair trial. The meanie$ on the blog are $imply again$t Mr. $tewart. Mr. $tewart i$ really ju$t a nice man who $imply need$ our under$tanding (and I want your tax dollar$ to $upport my $tandard of living)."
Personally, I'll buy the rope if y'all can find a tree to support his weight.
carolinamountaineer 2 years, 7 months ago
This has got to be the best "NEWS" that the pilot has reported.
None 2 years, 7 months ago
OldSpook => YOU NAILED IT! What are "billable hours"...? taxpayers wallets of course!
lawman1973 2 years, 7 months ago
Reference Stewart getting "Fatter"- I retired from the Department of Corrections and if an Inmate was sent to a hospital or seen the Facility Doctor and COMPLAINED that he was not getting enough to eat, then the Doctor or would order additional food for the Inmate. In other words they are fed better than YOU or I.. Strange isn't it.
Bflat 2 years, 7 months ago
Let's get the cases rolling cause Judge Webb works in cramped quarters due to the Gold Bar Hilton Detention Center is going to get built first. If there were room to have more cases heard, perhaps that would free up lots of space in the DC and there would be no need for a new one or expansion.
Hooray for Judge Webb in making a great decision. The thing of postponeing and stonewalling a case needs to stop. Let the case move forward.
buddysmith 2 years, 7 months ago
you are right zoey, seems like all the folks they keep showing in these pictures from court needs to zumba!!!!
buddysmith 2 years, 7 months ago
Toda i think it should be a requirement that to be able to practice law in NC, once passing the bar, lawyers should have to represent, as court appointed, defendants for free. they could do this on a rotating basis. that way the taxpayers couldnt be milked out of thousands of dollars, maybe hundreds of thousands, for cases that are dragged out to stuff the ole attorney pocetbooks. with the number of attorneys we have in this state, they may only have to go to court maybe once every 2 years for free. maybe we should suggest this to our representatives? wait bad idea, most have law degrees and would never support such a bill!!! if they were ever voted out of office they might have to practice law again and would be dipping into their own pockets. oh well it was a good idea i thought!