A bond modification was denied Wednesday for a Hopkinsville man charged with a 2021 murder at a party on Hazel Street.
Leon Grimes is charged with shooting Calvin Buckner in the chest at that July 4 party.
Grimes, his defense attorney Ted Shouse and Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Bolen appeared before Judge Andrew Self for a pretrial conference Wednesday afternoon. During the hearing, Shouse asked for the bond reduction because of the length of time Grimes has been behind bars due to two factors — an unresolved issue with receiving the discovery he has asked for from the current commonwealth’s attorney and issues with the previous one.
click to download audioTwo previous trial dates for Grimes, including one for this month, have been postponed. Shouse says that’s the main reason for filing the bond modification motion.
click to download audioBolen argued that Grimes has been before the court since 2021 on different occasions and doesn’t feel the prosecutor nor the victims shouldn’t “punished” because the prior commonwealth’s attorney did not provide Shouse with the discovery he was entitled to. She also voiced her concerns about Grimes’ criminal past.
click to download audioShe added they also have a concern that Grimes has a prior conviction for intimidating a witness in a legal process and she doesn’t want that to happen again.
To make sure Shouse has everything he needs in this case, Bolen assured the court that she would make a copy of everything she has and give it to the defense in paper form because she is unsure if he was provided everything needed in this case from the previous commonwealth’s attorney.
After hearing the arguments, Judge Self said everyone has acknowledged the fact about the delay in discovery and denied the motion to modify bond because the court feels that Grimes is “a danger to himself or others.”
click to download audioJudge Self then set a jury trial to begin the week of July 31st and scheduled another pretrial conference for June 28th.
