Richard Bennett misdemeanor trial on marijuana charge delayed

Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
photo Richard Bennett

The misdemeanor trial for Richard Bennett, who before his arrest had been tapped to lead the social services arm of the mayor's Violence Reduction Initiative, was delayed Monday after a prosecutor requested a continuance.

Assistant District Attorney General David Schmidt said he did not know if drug screening results requested by the defense had even been received by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigators' crime lab as of Monday. Judge Barry Steelman said that didn't seem unusual.

Steelman said he wouldn't have expected the results "even if you sent them in November."

He suggested setting a status hearing for April or May, but Bennett's attorney, Gerald Webb, asked to do it "a little sooner."

Bennett was arrested in June after police found him inside a parked car in East Lake Park with a woman, two open Budweiser bottles, an open bottle of Patron tequila and a baggie with less than a gram of marijuana. Police also found hydrocodone pills in a keychain container.

At the time, Bennett's A Better Tomorrow nonprofit organization was slated to take over the critical social services arm of Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative. But after he was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and violation of open container laws, the city pulled its support. Hope for the Inner City took over as the home of VRI social services.

photo Richard Bennett, right, and his attorney, Bill Speek ,appear before Judge Barry Steelman on Thursday. Steelman set a January trial date for Bennett on charges of marijuana possession.

Bennett always has maintained that he is innocent and was working for the VRI at the time of his arrest. He was partially vindicated in September when two of three charges were dropped, leaving only a single charge of possession of marijuana.

In December, attorney Bill Speek sought to speed up the case's move to trial, saying Bennett's livelihood was on hold until he could be vindicated. The trial originally was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but Steelman on Monday granted the prosecution's request for a continuance.

Bennett will return to court Feb. 9, and Steelman said he expected to see proof of whether the state lab had received the tests at that time.

"I think that if we don't make sure that we do it, it might not get done," Steelman said.

Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwise man@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.

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