EVANSVILLE — Attorneys representing the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office and an Evansville man accused of murdering Jaylen Alexender Curlee last year could not seat a jury Monday due to extensive media coverage of the case, a judge ruled.
An hours-long attempt to identify potential jurors who were unfamiliar with 23-year-old Kentar Rico Collins's homicide case failed around 1 p.m. Monday, according to his attorney, Barry Blackard.
Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge Ryan Reed deemed the case a mistrial and excused all jurors Monday afternoon, court records show.
Collins stands accused of opening fire on 25-year-old Jaylen Alexander Curlee from a vehicle in the 1500 block of Judson Street in mid-December, striking Curlee multiple times.
Last year, Evansville Police Sgt. Anna Gray told the Courier & Press that all attempts to save Curlee's life failed.
Two days after the shooting, Collins, with assistance from his attorney, turned himself in to the authorities though he did not answer detectives' questions.
The Vanderburgh County Prosecutors Office swiftly charged Collins with felony murder, among other counts.
The case attracted media attention from its outset, but the ensuing legal battle lingered in local headlines and complicated efforts to seat a jury for one very specific reason: In July, Collins pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, and a felony firearm sentencing enhancement.
That deal saw prosecutors drop the charge of felony murder Collins faced for Curlee's killing.
Local news outlets were quick to pick up on the story.
A July 17, Channel 25-WEHT headline read, "Evansville man pleads guilty in connection with December murder charge."
Local outlet WFIE-NBC14 penned a similar article that day, as did WEVV-CBS44.
Collins' widely publicized decision to plead guilty had, according to Blackard, tainted the local jury pool even months later.
A judge looked set to sentence Collins in August. But Curlee's family members and supporters, including his mother, petitioned the court and prosecutors to move forward with a jury trial despite the plea agreement.
Prosecutors backed the family and a judge reinstated Collins' original plea of "not guilty" over Collins' and Blackards' objections on Aug. 25.
With the deal off, Collins now wanted his day in court, Blackard said. The attorney sought a speedy trial for his client and Collins looked set to receive one on Monday.
"This case was unique in the fact that the media coverage was very specific as to what had happened early on in the case," Blackard told a Courier & Press reporter as he walked out of the courtroom Monday, referring to the former plea agreement. "So I hesitantly asked for a mistrial."
Blackard also hesitantly consented to an interview, noting additional media coverage of the case could further complicate matters. In summary, Blackard said jurors' knowledge of Collins' prior guilty plea was prejudicial to his client and would deny him a fair trial.
At first, Reed denied Blackard's request to declare the case mistried, court records show. But after additional "voir dire" examination - through which prosecutors and defense attorneys attempt to form an impartial jury - Reed sided with Collins and ultimately granted the mistrial around 1 p.m.
Days before Collins' Monday trial was set to begin, it once again became a topic of local discussion in the news media — as is typical for most homicide cases in Evansville.
"[Prosecutors] had similar concerns that the pretrial publicity of this case, because of the unique nature of it, would have an effect on a fair and impartial jury," Blackard said. "We're (still) moving forward. He'll be in court Friday morning."
The parties will select a new trial date, according to court records, though Blackard contended they may need to look outside of Evansville's media market for a potential venue.
Had Monday's trial moved forward, prosecutors would have drawn from more than a dozen potential witnesses and multiple exhibits in an attempt to illustrate Collins' guilt, public records show.
The exhibits included officer-worn body camera footage, an autopsy report, photographs, 911 call audio, surveillance footage and police interviews, among other evidence.