Moorefield jury to hear Carr case

August 21, 1998|By DAVE McMILLION, Charles Town

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - The trial for a Wisconsin man charged in a 1997 Jefferson County shooting will be moved about 90 miles away to Moorefield, W.Va., officials said Thursday.

On Wednesday, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Christopher Wilkes ruled that the trial for Patrick Carr, 53, of Minocquan, would be moved, but it was not known where.

It was first believed that the Jefferson County Commissioners would have to pay the bill to take about 25 witnesses to Moorefield, in Hardy County. But later in the day, the state Supreme Court said it would pick up the expenses, said Prosecuting Attorney Michael D. Thompson.

Thompson received approval from the commissioners for county funding to pay for food and lodging for the witnesses. Thompson initially said the costs could be up to $15,000.

"It's a logistical problem, obviously," Thompson said.

Carr's trial was to begin Tuesday in Jefferson County Circuit Court, but was delayed when court officials could not seat enough jurors.

One reason a jury could not be seated was because several potential jurors read a local newspaper story about a plea bargain offer that was made to Carr, officials said. The concern was whether reading the story would taint prospective jurors' opinion of the case, officials said.

The shooting occurred when a man drove to the Harpers Ferry Flea Market on July 27, 1997, and led a 5-year-old boy into a wooded area, according to witnesses. When confronted by family and friends of the boy, the man opened fire with a .32-caliber revolver, wounding three men, according to police and witnesses.

Carr was indicted on three counts of malicious wounding and one count of first-degree sexual assault, court officials said.

|

|

|