Lindsay trial now in June
Murphy – A lawyer for a defendant in a 2016 homicide has asked a judge to dismiss charges, saying his client’s constitutional and state rights were violated because it has taken so long for his trial to take place.
Bryan Vincent Crisp, 51, of Hayesville, is accused of killing Murphy resident Kenneth Ryan Jones on the morning of May 10, 2016.
Crisp was scheduled for a jury trial to begin this week.
Crisp has been in custody since his arrest in 2016, during which time he has had three lawyers and had several court dates, including trial dates, postponed.
Some postponements were the result of new evidence presented to his lawyers just before trial dates, leaving the lawyers – including his latest attorney, Bill Jones – with insufficient time to sort through it. Other postponements were caused by COVID-19 quarantines while other delays were caused by a short-staffed District Attorney’s Office and the availability of witnesses, said assistant district attorney John Hindsman Jr., who is prosecuting the case.
Jones wondered how much witnesses will remember this long after the events on May 10, 2016. He also said the long pretrial confinement has caused Crisp’s health to decline.
Superior Court Judge William Coward heard arguments for the pretrial motion and was expected to make a ruling around noon Tuesday. Jury selection was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, after the Cherokee Scout’s press time.
According to court documents, a witness told police she and four other people were at a house on Sunrise Street when Jones arrived around 11:50 a.m. on May 10, 2016. The witness said Crisp, who had recently been released from prison, walked toward the door after Jones arrived and the two fought on the front porch.
A witness said Crisp pulled out a handgun and shot Jones in the head and fled in someone else’s vehicle. Jones was airlifted to a hospital in Tennessee, where he was pronounced dead.
About four hours after the shooting, police found Crisp driving a silver Volkswagen in Polk County, Tenn. Crisp was traveling at speeds up to 100 mph and allegedly was under the influence of drugs, according to law enforcement.
When he was arrested, Crisp allegedly had in his possession the firearm used in the shooting and a large amount of methamphetamine. There were several warrants out for his arrest.
Crisp was charged with first-degree murder in Jones’ death. Court documents indicate his attorney at the time planned to argue the shooting was an accident that happened in self-defense. If Crisp is convicted, prosecutors will not seek the death penalty.
In another court matter, Scott Lindsay, a former attorney for the Cherokee County Department of Social Services, will have a trial date set after June 1. Lindsay is facing 20 felony charges for his role in separating children from their families without judicial oversight through the use of custody and visitation agreements.