PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A Pierre teenager accused of murder has new attorneys and might get a new trial date.
Braiden McCahren, 17, has pleaded not guilty in the December 2012 shooting death of 16-year-old Dalton Williams. McCahren, who was 16 years old at the time of the shooting in his home, is being tried in adult court.
Court documents indicate McCahren has two new defense attorneys handling his case because his two former attorneys might be called to testify as witnesses at a motions hearing set for Monday and possibly at his trial, KCCR radio reported (https://bit.ly/1j0eYSd ).
McCahren had been represented from the start of the case by Brad Schreiber of Pierre and William Tayler of Sioux Falls. His defense case is now being handled by Sioux Falls attorneys Michael Butler and Clint Sargent.
McCahren’s two-week trial is scheduled to begin June 2 in the town of Winner, about 100 miles south of Pierre, but his new attorneys have asked that the trial and the Monday hearing be delayed. Prosecutor Michael Moore said he expects the Monday hearing to be held, with the judge deciding then on whether to reschedule the trial, which already has been delayed nearly half a dozen times.
McCahren is accused of shooting Williams with a shotgun after first pointing the weapon at another teenage boy following an argument about a paintball game. McCahren’s former lawyers have argued that the shooting was accidental, but prosecutors have said McCahren has a history of violent, reckless behavior since childhood.
One motion set to be addressed on Monday is whether the testimony of a juvenile witness will be suppressed at trial, but the identity of the juvenile hasn’t been disclosed because of his age.
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Information from: KCCR-AM, https://www.todayskccr.com/
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