Defense in Columbus death-penalty case says possible witness got favorable jail release
The treatment of a potential witness against Brandon David Conner is the latest dispute between attorneys in Columbus’ only death-penalty case.
Conner, 41, is charged in the deaths of girlfriend Rosella “Mandy” Mitchell, 32, and their son, 6-month-old Dylan Ethan Conner, whose charred bodies were found Aug. 21, 2014, in their 1324 Winifred Lane home. He is accused of killing both Mitchell and their son before setting the house afire.
Attorneys have been working through pretrial issues in the case in a series of hearings, the latest held Monday before Superior Court Judge William Rumer, to whom defense attorneys Emily Gilbert and Brad Gardner raised questions about Lindsey Lay, a possible witness.
They claimed Lay received favorable treatment when he was arrested in Harris County on Sept. 13, 2018, when he was accused of being a convicted felon with a firearm. Taken into custody at 11:39 a.m., Lay was released on his own recognizance two hours later, despite other pending felony cases.
Conner also is housed in the Harris County Jail, to ensure his safety and to keep him away from any witnesses who might be jailed in Muscogee County.
Communications between authorities in Harris and Muscogee the day Lay was arrested reported he was a potential witness, because Conner once “shared” some information with him relevant to the capital case.
Harris County did not want to hold Conner and Lay in the same jail, and first asked whether Conner could be transferred to the Muscogee County Jail, before they instead released Lay.
Gardner argued not only that Lay’s release was illegal — because the law says only a Superior Court judge can set bonds for felons accused of having firearms — but also that it was a benefit given him in exchange for his testimony.
District Attorney Julia Slater countered that Lay was treated no differently than any other jail inmate would be, under the circumstances, and that his release was not in exchange for testimony because prosecutors have made no deal with Lay.
She added that were Lay to benefit from testifying at Conner’s trial, it would be disclosed to the jury, so jurors could weigh that in considering whether he was credible, Slater added.
Gardner argued that regardless whether prosecutors made a deal with Lay, they still have to disclose to the defense that he’s a potential witness who appears to be receiving some benefit.
Gardner reiterated that Lay still should not have been released on his own recognizance without a judge determining whether that was appropriate, on a charge of a convicted felon’s having a gun. Lay was released on the Harris County sheriff’s authority.
“A law has been broken … And it’s broken every day that he’s out on this bond,” Gardner said, adding he feared prosecutors might not disclose other evidence beneficial to the defense if it did not reveal what happened with Lay.
Judge Rumer gave no ruling on the defense motion Monday, instead asking that attorneys on both sides file additional documents for him to consider.
Currently no tentative trial date for Conner has been set. He has been jailed since the night Mitchell’s home burned. He first was arrested for giving police false information, when an officer questioned him on Cedar Avenue near Wynnton Road, after watching Conner sit alone with his car parked in an area plagued by business burglaries.
Conner was charged with murder after the two bodies were discovered and police found blood and other evidence in his car, investigators said.