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Trial date stays put in shooting of deputy

The attorney for the man charged in the death of Charles "Bo" Harrison lost his bid for more time.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published July 19, 2006

DADE CITY - Once he finds and interviews 22 more potential witnesses in the case against Alfredie Steele Jr., attorney Tom Hanlon has these key questions to address:

Should the trial be moved out of east Pasco?

Should the jury in the case be sequestered?

Steele is accused in the 2003 shooting death of Pasco Sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison, who was killed in his patrol car outside a Lacoochee nightclub. If convicted, the 22-year-old could face the death penalty.

On Tuesday, Hanlon told Circuit Judge Linda Babb that four months is not enough time to be ready before the scheduled trial date of Nov. 13.

"I don't know that we're going to have all these things done," the assistant public defender said.

Of the witnesses he still plans to depose, Hanlon said two are in federal prison and three in state prison. Often, he said, depositions are scheduled and then people don't show up.

But the judge was unswayed. The trial remains scheduled for November.

"The reality is, this is a 3-year-old case," Babb said. "I'm not continuing it."

She said if he interviews six people a month until November, he should be ready.

It was not the first time Hanlon was unsuccessful in pushing back the November trial date. In April, he told Babb the defense needed more time, to no avail.

Tuesday's hearing turned tense as the two argued over the timeline.

"You don't understand how much work it is because you've never been on this side," Hanlon told Babb, a former prosecutor.

Hanlon also raised, for the first time, the possibility of trying to move the trial out of the Dade City courthouse.

"Every police car has 'In loving memory of Bo Harrison,' " Hanlon said, referring to memorial stickers on the backs of many law enforcement vehicles. "We can't have jurors driving back and forth to the trial with that in front of them."

After the hearing, Hanlon said he needs to have witness interviews completed before focusing on such trial issues.

"Wouldn't you rather start having labor pains before you went to the hospital?" he said. "That's all I'm saying."

[Last modified July 18, 2006, 22:31:32]