Defendants Antonio Henry, left, and Brendan Barnes are led into Judge Don Poole’s courtroom in December 2011 where a trial date was set in the slaying of pastor David Strong.Two cousins will be tried together in May in the beating and stabbing death of Chattanooga pastor David Strong.
Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole on Thursday set a May 22 trial date for Brendan Barnes, 17, and Antonio Henry, 26.
The pair’s attorneys had asked for separate trials.
Also Thursday, Barnes’ attorney, Executive Assistant District Public Defender Karla Gothard, objected strongly to redactions of Barnes’ and Henry’s statements prepared for trial by District Attorney Bill Cox, Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston and Henry’s attorney, Dan Ripper.
“I object to every one of these redactions,” Gothard told Poole. “It makes it sound like Brendan Barnes was acting alone. It cuts out relevant portions of his statement.”