CONWAY, Ark. (AP) – A judge on Tuesday postponed the trial of a teenager charged in the shooting deaths of an Arkansas couple so prosecutors can ask the FBI to help access an iPod and iPhone to search for evidence.
Faulkner County Circuit Judge Troy Braswell granted the request from prosecutors to postpone the trial of 18-year-old Hunter Drexler. The trial was moved from next week to June 27 to allow prosecutors to reach out to the FBI. The agency announced Monday that it had gained access to an iPhone linked to the gunman in a mass shooting in California, ending a court battle between Apple and the Obama administration.
“The potential advancement in accessing those items, I believe that’s good cause,” Braswell said.
Drexler has pleaded not guilty to two counts of capital murder and other charges for what prosecutors say was his role in the killing of Robert and Patricia Cogdell at their home in Conway, 30 miles north of Little Rock. Justin Staton, the 15-year-old whom the Cogdells raised as their grandson, is also charged in the July shooting deaths.
Drexler’s attorney, Patrick Benca, objected to the delay, saying the state had most of the evidence or knowledge of it months ago. Prosecutors have had possession of the iPhone they say belongs to Drexler since he and two other teenagers were arrested in Texas and brought back to Arkansas days after the July shootings.