Columbus judge lets ex-cop accused of killing paramedic keep attorney, denies venue change
After about two hours of argument Tuesday over three motions in Muscogee Superior Court, nothing in the murder case against fired Columbus police Sgt. William Leonard Talley had changed.
Judge Gil McBride ultimately decided that Talley will remain held on $1 million bond in the county jail; his trial next year will be held here in Columbus; and Jennifer Curry still will be his defense attorney.
That’s how McBride ruled on two motions from Curry, who asked for a lower bond and a change of venue, and one from Assistant District Attorney Robin King, who argued Curry should be disqualified as Talley’s attorney because her fiancé, who works for the Muscogee County Sheriff, served on a special response team dispatched to help capture Tally the night he was arrested.
Talley is accused of shooting 44-year-old paramedic Kelly Levinsohn in the back of the head at her Pratt Avenue home on May 11, before he drove her pickup truck to Harris County, wrecked it off Interstate 185 and started an overnight standoff with authorities, holding a gun to his head and threatening suicide.
The Muscogee County Sheriff’s office sent its special response team with an armored vehicle to assist in capturing Talley, who eventually surrendered.
Among those on the special response team was sheriff’s Sgt. Timothy Stone, who is engaged to Curry. King filed a motion last week to disqualify Curry, arguing her relationship with Stone presented a conflict of interest because he “actively participated in the arrest of the defendant and is a critical witness who must necessarily be called by the state in the instant case.”
In court Tuesday, Curry said Stone was not a crucial witness because his team was only on standby during the standoff and never engaged Talley. King countered that Curry didn’t decide which witnesses the prosecution would call: “The defense does not have that authority.”
Curry said King can’t pick a witness simply to create an apparent conflict of interest for the defense. Columbus has a “small town syndrome,” in that residents involved in the courts and in law enforcement often develop relationships with no direct bearing on the cases in which they’re involved, she said.
Talley was aware of the alleged conflict and not troubled by it, she said, adding previous court rulings on the issue emphasized that a defendant’s constitutional right to have an attorney of his or her choice is fundamental, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.
King said the court had an option other than dismissing Curry: The defense could file a written waiver disclosing any possible conflicts of interest to Talley and have him sign it.
Curry agreed, and so did the judge, who denied King’s motion contingent on Curry’s filing the disclosure and waiver.
Venue change
In arguing for either moving Talley’s trial to another city or importing a jury from somewhere else to hear the case, Curry cited pretrial publicity that included news stories with information likely inadmissible in court.
Prospective jurors here were being prejudiced by such details, as evidenced by the comments people posted on social media, some suggesting Talley be allowed to take his own life, the attorney said. Because Talley’s a former Army Ranger, some of the news reports were posted to military websites, provoking similar reactions.
“This is very emotional, very heated,” Curry said.
King said Curry’s claims of a tainted jury pool lacked any solid evidence of widespread prejudice: “This is mere speculation.”
The time to consider a change of venue would be during jury selection, if a significant percentage of those in the jury pool said they could not fairly judge Talley because of what they’d already heard about the case, King said.
McBride agreed: “We’re not at that point yet.” Curry may reassert her motion if prospective jurors say they’ve already formed an opinion on the case, he said.
The bond
Renewing a previous motion to lower Talley’s bond, Curry said her client remains isolated in the county jail, on suicide watch, and she still fears his mental health may deteriorate under those conditions.
Though authorities have said he’s being monitored to ensure he does not harm himself, that is not a reason to extend his incarceration, as jail is not meant to protect people from themselves, she said.
She asked that the prosecution share its evidence against Talley sooner than 10 days before his trial, as the law mandates. That way she won’t have to ask for a delay to sift through it, she said.
King said Curry should file a motion to compel that discovery, rather than argue for it during a bond hearing.
In denying Curry’s bond motion, McBride said that because of the conditions under which Talley’s being held, he was “watching very closely” to ensure the case moved quickly to trial, possibly early next year.
If the trial is delayed, he will reconsider lowering Talley’s bond, he said.
Besides murder, Talley is charged with aggravated assault and using a firearm to commit a crime. So far no tentative trial date has been set.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 4:15 PM.