Two men charged in connection with the death of a Valley Forge man both appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court on Friday morning and the attorney for one of the suspects requested a mental health evaluation for his client.
Jacob Lee Buckles, 27, of 1005 Fairview St., Elizabethton, and Roger Dale Morrison, 28, of 136 Jack Bradley Road, Elizabethton, were arrested on Jan. 7 in connection with the death of 29-year-old Jeffery “Colt” Calloway, who died that same day after police say he was stabbed in the chest with a sword. Investigators charged Buckles with second degree murder and Morrison with accessory after the fact to second degree murder.
On Friday, the two men made their first joint appearance in General Sessions Court before Judge Keith Bowers Jr. following separate arraignments in the case.
When Buckles stepped before the judge with his attorney Chad Cash requested the court grant a request for a mental health evaluation.
“I have spoken with the District attorney on this matter and we are going to as for a mental health evaluation,” Cash said. “It is my understanding it will take about 45 days to get that completed.”
Because of the time frame to have the evaluation done Cash said his client waived the time requirement for a preliminary hearing so the evaluation could be completed.
Bowers scheduled Buckles to return to court on March 15 in order to allow enough time for the evaluation and for both Cash and the District Attorney’s office to review the results.
Cash also made a request for a bond reduction on behalf of his client.
Assistant District Attorney Todd Hull said the state opposed a reduction in the bond because a criminal history report had not been completed on Buckles and he had not had a chance to discuss details of the case with investigators.
Bowers denied the request and left Buckles’ bond set at $250,000.
“I think the bond is appropriate considering the nature of the crime,” Bowers said, adding the issue of a bond reduction could be revisited once a criminal history report had been completed.
During the court appearance, Morrison, through his attorney Assistant Public Defender Jim Lonon, waived his right to a preliminary hearing and asked that his case be bound over to the Grand Jury.
Lonon requested a bond reduction on behalf of his client and told Bowers that he and the District Attorney’s Office had reviewed Morrison’s criminal history and agreed to reducing his bond to $3,000. The court had previously set Morrison’s bond at $25,000.
Bowers granted the bond reduction as well as the request to bind the case over to the Grand Jury. Morrison is scheduled to make his first appearance in Criminal Court on March 28.