Attorney for man charged in Trooper Aaron Smith's death asks for venue change
A man accused of fatally striking an Indiana State Police trooper with a vehicle in Hendricks County last month has asked for a change of venue for his trial, according to online court records.
Monday, the attorney for Eddie Pernell Jones filed a motion to move the man's trial out of Hendricks County, citing “public hostility” against the 18-year-old. If that request is not granted, the attorney asked for prospective jurors to be selected from another county.
Jones, of Missouri, is charged with murder, resisting law enforcement and auto theft in the June 28 death of Trooper Aaron Smith. Smith had been on the force for five years before his death.
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Court records detailing Jones’ arrest state he stole his mother's car before fleeing Sikeston, Missouri, with two other people. One of the passengers, 19-year-old Demareon Curry, faces auto theft and resisting law enforcement charges in the crash. Investigators later learned the other passenger, a 15-year-old girl, was a ward of the state of Missouri and reported missing.
Jones’ attorney in his motion listed numerous reasons why he would not receive a fair trial in Hendricks County, due to public outrage over his alleged offenses, prejudicial reporting or editorializing from news and social media outlets castigating him, speculative opinion about the personality or character of Jones, disclosure of inadmissible evidence or the existence of recorded interviews of Jones and others.
The attorney specifically points to a story aired on CBS 4 and Fox59 which featured a defense attorney, who is not connected to the case, who watched traffic video of the crash and opined a defense team would have a “difficult time” arguing that Jones did not knowingly try to hit Smith.
They further contend the publication of Jones’ mugshot with the story is prejudicial because the booking photo shows Jones wearing orange inmate clothing.
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Jones' attorney concluded by calling the story one example of the “extreme prejudicial pre-trial publicity” in the case.
The judge in the case had not ruled on the motion as of Tuesday afternoon.
Contact the reporter at 317-503-7514.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trooper Aaron Smith death: Attorney for accused seeks new trial venue
