Wednesday, May 9, 2001
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Wednesday, May 9, 2001 |
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Judge: skipping trial for 'chest pains' could mean jail for child molestation defendant By JOHN
MUNFORD
A local man accused of child molestation might be jailed until he stands trial after he missed a second scheduled trial date under questionable medical circumstances. And just in case he's hospitalized again during his next trial date, Farrell Loyd Pitts has been ordered to prepare a system by which he could attend trial electronically through a remote location ... such as a hospital room. Pitts was scheduled to stand trial last Monday for child molestation, aggravated sodomy and enticing a child for indecent purposes. But he was admitted to the hospital complaining of chest pains the previous Friday and wasn't released until Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Christopher Edwards has ordered a hearing for May 31 to determine whether Pitts' $100,000 bond should be revoked. The offenses involved a 6-year-old boy back in April 1998, according to the indictment filed against Pitts. In his order, Edwards pointed out that Pitts' cardiologist and regular physician said there was little evidence Pitts suffered a recent heart attack or significant cardiac event. "The defendant's doctors and counsel know of no other recent hospitalizations except these two that are conspicuously coincidental to the defendant's scheduled jury trials," Edwards wrote. "... The defendant's hospitalization has effectively operated to obtain him continuance to which he is not legally entitled." Edwards ordered Pitts and his attorney, Ed Garland, to prepare a live audio/visual transmission system to allow Pitts to stand trial from a remote location if necessary. The system must insure that Pitts and his attorney can communicate in private as he would be allowed to do in a normal trial. In ordering the May 31 bond hearing, Edwards noted, "It appears proper that the defendant show cause why his bond should not be revoked and why he wouldn't be incarcerated pending trial." During a conference call Tuesday with Edwards, Pitts' cardiologist said he would be prescribed medication to ease chest pains he might suffer during the trial.
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