The trial for a Carter County constable charged with aggravated assault and official oppression set for this week was postponed following a joint request by the District Attorney’s Office and the constable’s defense attorney due to the discovery of new witnesses and waiting on records which have been subpoenaed.

Barney G. Brown, 75, of Roan Mountain, was arrested in March after a Carter County Grand Jury indicted him on charges of aggravated assault and official oppression in connection with allegations of misconduct during a traffic stop Brown conducted in December 2016.

Brown was scheduled to stand trial on January 11 on those charges, but on Tuesday Assistant District Attorney Janet Hardin filed a joint motion with the court asking for a continuance in the case.

“The State has issued subpoenas for various documents in this case, all of which have not been returned to the State. The Defense has not had an opportunity to review said documents,” Hardin said in the motion. “Further, the State has learned of and made known to the Defense witnesses who have additional information in this case.”

In the motion, Hardin said both she and Brown’s attorney James Bowman were asking for a continuance to allow both sides to properly prepare for the case.

Court records show that Criminal Court Judge Stacy Street signed a subpoena on Dec. 28 for the production of records from Bobby Trivette of the Carter County Constable Association relating to Brown’s state-mandated qualifications and training, specifically including the written assessment and scoring from the 2015 and 2016 training years.

“There is reason to believe that the production of the records, items, or information requested will materially assist in the investigation and prosecution in that the records will show that Barney Brown did or did not receive mandatory training as well as pass mandated training assessment,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Shannon Morton stated in his request for the court to subpoena the records.

The charges against Brown stem from an investigation by the TBI and the Carter County Sheriff’s Office at the request of District Attorney General Tony Clark into an incident which allegedly occurred in December 2016.

“The investigation revealed that on December 2nd, Brown initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle traveling along Highway 19E in Hampton,” the TBI said in a statement following Brown’s arrest. “During the traffic stop, Brown pulled a gun on the driver and unlawfully detained him.”

On March 13, TBI agents presented the results of their investigation to the Carter County Grand Jury, which handed down the indictment against Brown the same day.