A Carter County man slated to stand trial for first-degree murder and other charges in March appeared in Carter County Criminal Court on Tuesday for a hearing on motions filed in his case.
Anthony Lacy, 20, and Demetrice Cordell, 21, both of Roan Mountain, who face multiple charges in connection with a 2014 crime spree that left a man dead. Both men face charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, burglary, evading arrest and multiple counts of theft of property. Lace also faces an especially aggravated robbery charge. The State has filed a notice of its intent to seek the death penalty against Lacy but not against Cordell.
Judge Stacy Street granted a joint motion by the State and Cordell’s defense attorney Assistant Public Defender Melanie Sellers requesting to sever the case, which means Lacy and Cordell will stand trial separately. Street also ruled Lacy will be the first to go before a jury.
The trial for Lacy is scheduled to begin on March 20 and, according to court estimates, could last two weeks.
On Tuesday, attorneys in the case argued motions before the court and worked out some pre-trial details.
Attorneys Jim Bowman and Gene Scott, both of whom represent Lacy, had previously filed a motion asking the court to suppress statements made by Lacy during an interview with investigators. Bowman and Scott also asked the court to suppress evidence collected from Lacy’s bedroom at his home, saying Lacy did not willfully grant permission for officers to search his room. The attorneys have now withdrawn both of those motions to suppress.
Street granted a motion that both the defense team and the District Attorney’s Office agreed to regarding which charges will go to trial on March 20.
In the indictment against Lacy and Cordell, the state alleges that the two men killed Vance during the perpetration of a crime spree through Roan Mountain that involved several incidents of theft.
Earlier this month, Bowman and Scott filed a motion asking the court to sever the offenses covered by the indictment and only include the charges involving Vance as a victim during the upcoming trial.
“Mr. Lacy is charged with the especially aggravated robbery and murder of Danny Ray Vance, the burglary of Mr. Vance’s home and theft of property,” the defense states in the motion. “Additionally, Mr. Lacy is charged with various other unrelated theft and burglary offenses from other victims as well as evading arrest.”
“Mr. Lacy avers that the Court should sever all counts not involving Mr. Vance as a victim because the jury would be unfairly prejudiced by inclusion of the unrelated bad acts and severance is required to promote a fair determination of guilt or innocence,” the motion adds.
The District Attorney’s Office agreed to the motion to sever, and Street granted the request, so when Lacy goes to trial on March 20 it will only be on the charges of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and theft under $500. Lacy will stand trial at a later time on the remaining charges from the indictment.
During Tuesday’s the court reviewed photographs of Vance and the crime scene at his home which the District Attorney’s Office intended to enter as evidence. The Defense challenged the admissibility of some of the photographs during the hearing. Street made a ruling on which photos would be admissible at the trial and then filed those photographs under seal until the trial begins.
Additional court orders regarding the filed motions should be issued in the coming weeks. Street set a tentative court date of March 3 if there are any new matters to handled before the trial begins.