Trial Delayed for Jefferson County Sheriff
By: Jennifer Mullen and Ciara Brown
Updated: January 8, 2013
MORGANTOWN, WV - A judge has postponed the trial of a West Virginia sheriff Tuesday accused of beating a bank robbery suspect and falsifying records during an investigation.
A U.S. district judge ruled in favor of Jefferson County Sheriff Robert Shirley's lawyers, stating that they had good cause to request the delay.
The judge gave Shirley's defense lawyers time to choose potential jurors and decide whether pre-trial publicity justifies a change of venue request.
The trial has been moved to January 22 in Martinsburg.
Shirley is accused of severely beating Mark Haines, of Harpers Ferry, with 14 unidentified officers during a police chase after he robbed a bank in December 2010.
Shirley has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he will be justified.
Haines is currently serving a 19-year sentence for bank robbery. Court documents say he suffers scrapes on his face and back from the beating, a broken nose, as well as a hemorrhage to his right eye.
A separate lawsuit stemming from the alleged assault is scheduled for trial this fall.
A U.S. district judge ruled in favor of Jefferson County Sheriff Robert Shirley's lawyers, stating that they had good cause to request the delay.
The judge gave Shirley's defense lawyers time to choose potential jurors and decide whether pre-trial publicity justifies a change of venue request.
The trial has been moved to January 22 in Martinsburg.
Shirley is accused of severely beating Mark Haines, of Harpers Ferry, with 14 unidentified officers during a police chase after he robbed a bank in December 2010.
Shirley has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said he will be justified.
Haines is currently serving a 19-year sentence for bank robbery. Court documents say he suffers scrapes on his face and back from the beating, a broken nose, as well as a hemorrhage to his right eye.
A separate lawsuit stemming from the alleged assault is scheduled for trial this fall.
