A judge Monday denied a felony murder defendant's motion to bring in an out-of-county jury for his trial.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman said media coverage of Patrick Carmody's case wasn't enough to warrant the change of venue his attorney requested ahead of his trial, which is scheduled for June.
"I still at this point do not believe that there has been such a saturation of news coverage that a change of venue would be necessary," Steelman said.
Carmody is one of three men charged in connection with the 2010 Hixson shooting death of 21-year-old Chance LeCroy. Billy Bob Partin admitted he was at LeCroy's home with Carmody and another man, Ronald Lee Pittman, the night of Sept. 9. Partin is serving a 20-year sentence on a second-degree murder conviction.
Pittman, who testified against the other two men and identified Carmody as the shooter, is out of jail on bond. He is charged with facilitation of felony murder and facilitation of especially aggravated robbery. Carmody is charged with felony murder and especially aggravated robbery.
On Monday Carmody's attorney, Lee Ortwein, asked the judge to rejoin Pittman's and Carmody's cases. Now, Pittman is set to be tried on related charges, but after Carmody, meaning he could testify against Carmody.
"It's the same evidence, the same witnesses, and I'm troubled to see why they should be tried separately," Ortwein said.
He argued that for purposes of "judicial economy" -- in order to save the time and resources of the court -- the cases should be tried together.
District Attorney General Neal Pinkston objected, saying he believed the attorney general's office could determine who it tried, when and on what charges.
Steelman denied Ortwein's request, saying he had discretion to determine whether the cases should be joined.
The court also addressed several other motions recently filed by Ortwein and by Carmody's previous attorney, including a request that testimony from two women who identified him in a photo lineup be suppressed and a request that Carmody's bond be reduced. In regard to the first motion, Ortwein said he had trouble locating one witness, Ashley Birdwell, who was the girlfriend of Partin's brother and who identified Carmody in a photo array.
Steelman agreed that hearings addressing Birdwell's testimony and the motion to reduce bond could be addressed at a later hearing, set for June. 13. His trial is scheduled to take place June 23.
Contact Claire Wiseman at cwiseman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow her on Twitter @clairelwiseman.