A judge has set a tentative timeline for the trial of Curtis Reeves, who is accused of shooting a man in a Wesley Chapel movie theater.
Judge Pat Siracusa said the trial could tentatively happen in March, and that he doesn’t expect the trial to take longer than three weeks. Siracusa hopes to make that trial date official at a pre-trial hearing set for Oct. 15, after an update on where both sides are in the discovery process.
It was back and forth during Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing, as both the State Attorney’s Office and the defense for Reeves explained to the judge why the discovery process was taking so long.
Reeves’ attorney Richard Escobar told judge Pat Siracusa he has only deposed 19 witnesses so far and has another 81 to go. Escobar said the delay is the state’s fault for not yet handing over all of its forensic and ballistic reports.
Escobar also said he’s had to cancel several depositions because the witnesses came to their interview with previously undisclosed reports.
“Would you want me to represent you in that fashion? Would he want me to represent him in that fashion? Absolutely not," he said. “What we do in criminal defense is gather all the evidence and interpret all the evidence, analyze all the evidence and then we’re going to ask the appropriate questions to the witnesses.”
Assistant State Attorney Bill Loughery told Siracusa his office would be sure to provide all reports in a timely fashion from here on out, but as for the delay on the forensic and ballistic reports, Loughery said his office is still waiting for them too.
That evidence includes a report on the gunshot residue found on Chad Oulson’s clothing and a report outlining the text messages on Oulson’s cell phone.
Reeves, 72, shot and killed 43-year-old Oulson in a Wesley Chapel movie theater back in January during an argument over text messaging during the previews, investigators said. Reeves maintains it was in self-defense.
“It’s difficult,” said Escobar, on how his client is holding up. “It’s difficult coming here. It’s difficult hearing these allegations.”
The same can be said for Oulson’s widow Nicole, who has been at every court proceeding since her husband was killed. Oulson family attorney T.J. Grimaldi spoke on her behalf Wednesday, after Siracusa set the tentative trial date for March 2, 2015.
“By having a trial and getting this over with, all those things can stop and she can finally she can try to go back to living as much of a normal life as possible,” Grimaldi said.