CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A potential trial for a former Kanawha County EMT charged in an April dragging death remains on hold.
Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority EMT Alyssa Middleton is charged with voluntary manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide and fleeing the scene of an accident causing death, all felonies, in the death of John Lucas, WCHS reported.
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Prosecutors allege Middleton struck Lucas during the early morning hours of April 16 and continued driving for about two miles without stopping. Lucas died from his injuries.
Middleton appeared on Sept. 11 before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Dave Hardy for a status hearing.
The case has been on hold since July while attorneys await a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruling in a Raleigh County murder case. Middleton’s attorneys have asked Hardy to move the trial to another venue and keep the location confidential.
The delay centers on an appeal by convicted murderer Natalie Cochran, whose attorneys argue her trial should have been moved out of Raleigh County. Hardy said Middleton’s case will remain on hold until the state Supreme Court rules on that appeal.
Middleton’s attorneys have filed several pretrial motions over what evidence jurors could see or hear. Hardy said the case includes more than 1,000 pieces of evidence and approved a defense expert witness.
The defense also requested Lucas’ mental health records as part of its trial preparation.
Long said the defense believes Lucas’ character and mental health history are relevant because Middleton knew him before the incident. The defense wants to use the records to argue that Lucas had a history of being a danger to himself or others.
Hardy scheduled the next status hearing for Oct. 13 at 1:30 p.m. and ordered attorneys to notify the court immediately if they receive the medical examiner’s report.
