Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
The big court case in which North Carolina is suing the TVA over air pollution is scheduled to start July 14 in federal court.
Also, the trial of Polk County Sheriff Chris Abril is scheduled for April 4. Attorney Steve Lindsay, who represented former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford in his federal corruption trial, will be representing Abril. Here’s the story:
COLUMBUS — Prosecutors, defense attorneys and a judge on Thursday agreed to an Aug. 4 trial for Polk County Sheriff Chris Abril, almost two years from the date that he was arrested on charges of rape.
Abril, 46, was arrested on Aug. 28, 2006, and charged with five counts of first-degree statutory rape and one count of first-degree sexual offense. The alleged sexual assaults involved girls who were 10 and 12 years old when the offenses are alleged to have happened, in 1988 and 1989.
Two months after his arrest, Abril, a Democrat, was elected sheriff, ousting two-term Republican incumbent David Satterfield.
Senior Deputy Attorney General James Coman said Thursday that he received a letter on Aug. 13, 2007, informing him that Abril’s attorneys had withdrawn from the case and Stephen Lindsay would be taking over.
“That basically put us back at square one,” Coman said. “We turned over the discovery we had to Mr. Lindsay in January. Then Mr. Lindsay got involved in a federal case that is set to go to trial in April.”
Coman told Chief Resident Superior Court Judge Mark Powell that these were some of the reasons why Abril’s case has moved so slowly.
“The reason this has gone on so long is not any fault of the state,” Coman said. “I am not saying either that it was any fault of Mr. Lindsay.”
Coman said he originally hoped for a May 27 trial date, but Lindsay said that would not work for him.
“Since the May date doesn’t work the Aug. 4 date needs to be put in stone,” Coman said.
