Malynda Fulton
LAKELAND — A legal technicality led to a mistrial Monday in a case against a man charged with killing his uncle last year in Lakeland.
Alapaha Judicial Circuit District Attorney Cathy Helms said that a mistrial was declared in the trial against 18-year-old Darrius Dejon Foster after Lanier County Sheriff’s Office deputies brought the defendant into the courtroom in handcuffs.
“The jury panel was in the courtroom at the time,” Helms said. “Therefore, the defense asked for a mistrial because the jury was ‘tainted.’”
The motion for mistrial was granted by Alapaha Judicial Circuit Judge Howard McClain.
A special term motion must be filed to determine if the state can try the case now or wait six more months. Because the case is still pending, Helms chose not to provide further information.
Regarding the matter, Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton said that this is the first time this has happened while he has been in office.
“They were running two trials simultaneously and some of my staff and I got pulled into another courtroom and it got past us,” Norton said. “We don’t have the facilities, manpower, jail or space to accommodate court proceedings that go on at the same time in different places when the court only tries cases twice a year. The public needs to understand that the case was not dismissed and will still be tried.”
Foster remains in Lowndes County Jail until his case is tried. He was arrested less than two hours after his uncle, Robert Lee Williams, 48, was found shot and killed on May 3, 2008.
The shooting was reported just after 5 a.m. that Saturday morning. Authorities responded to Peeler Street in Lakeland and found Williams shot in his chest.
It appears that Williams was shot while riding his bike near the intersection of Talley Avenue and 6th Street, Lakeland Police Chief Robbie Grantham previously told The Times. Williams was able to stumble onto Peeler Street before collapsing.
A resident looked out of his window after hearing the gunshots, saw Williams collapse in the street and called 911. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene, Grantham said.
Authorities linked Foster to the shooting. Foster, who was 17 at the time, was arrested and charged with murder. The investigation was handled by the Lakeland Police Department and Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
