Pitts requests change of venue in attempted murder case
Published 6:01 pm Tuesday, June 6, 2017
- Star File Photo Kelly Pitts faces multiple charges in connection with an incident in December 2015 where he is accused of opening fire on police officers.
A Carter County man charged with multiple counts of attempted murder is asking the court to move his case to another venue, citing all of the pre-trial media coverage the case has garnered.
Greg Norris, the attorney for Kelly Lee Pitts, filed a motion in Carter County Criminal Court asking for a change of venue for the case. Pitts, 38, of 433 Dry Hollow Road, stands charged with seven counts of attempted first-degree murder and seven counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The charges stem from an incident that began during the evening hours of Dec. 16, 2015, and carried over into the early morning hours on Dec. 17, 2015, in the area of Pitts’ home on Dry Hollow Road. Pitts is accused of firing shots at law enforcement officers responding to a report of an intoxicated male subject who was armed with a gun.
In his motion, Norris notes the case has received “extensive media coverage” due to the nature of the charges and that media coverage has been “steady and ongoing” since Pitts’ arrest in December 2015.
Norris also states in the motion there had been misquoted testimony during coverage of the hearings. He cited coverage of testimony by Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Scott Lott during a preliminary hearing in the case. During his testimony, Lott read from a statement given to investigators by Pitts that he “shot into the ground a few times.” Norris said one media outlet misquoted the statement as saying that Pitts said he “shot into the crowd a few times.”
“This is a slight change in words, but an astronomical change in the meaning of the words,” the motion by Norris states.
Norris also took issue with media outlets reporting that Carter County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jenna Markland and Pitts’ girlfriend Brandy Hyder received injuries after being “shot” during the incident.
“Almost every media story states in one form or another states that person(s) were ‘shot,’” Norris said in the motion. “Although injuries are apparent, the fact of whether or not any person(s) were actually ‘shot’ or injured by other means is a fact that must be proven by the State.”
“Any prospective juror exposed to any of these stories will already be in a biased mindset simply by the wording of a person actually being ‘shot’ which basically proves that point for the state,” Norris added.
In the motion, Norris is asking the court to “find that the amount and content of the media coverage of this case has caused undue excitement and thus created the distinct problem of seating an unbiased jury in this county.” Norris asks the court to change the venue for the trial to “ensure a fair trial by a panel of jurors whom have not been exposed to excessive and misleading media coverage.”
Pitts is currently scheduled to stand trial in the case on Oct. 31 with the trial expected to last for three days.