UPDATE: Judge halts jury selection to consider delaying Brandon Council’s request to delay trial
By Danielle Barilla
WMBF News
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A judge ruled Tuesday that jury summons will not be sent out yet, pending a ruling on a motion to delay the trial against Brandon Michael Council.
Council faces two charges of murder for the deaths of Donna Major and Katie Skeen, who were killed during the robbery of the CresCom Bank in August 2017.
In a motion filed September 20, the defense asked the judge to delay jury selection and the trial claiming Council’s attorneys need more time to prepare. According to those documents, the trial is set to begin January 14.
In a response also filed Tuesday, the prosecution says it believes a 90 day continuance will give counsel enough time to prepare. However, they claim the defense is making the same arguments it made when the initial trial date was set. According to government's response, the prosecution asked for a November trial date and the defense asked for a date in April 2018.
July 17, the U.S. District Court of South Carolina filed documents detailing the jury selection process for the trial, including a jury summons and questionnaire being sent to 2,000 randomly chosen people from a district-wide pool October 1.
The judge says the clerk will not send those jury summons until the court rules on the motion to continue.
http://www.wmbfnews.com/2018/09/26/u...t-delay-trial/
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