Judge: No more delays in murder trial
Aug. 4—The attorney for a Stilwell man charged with three counts of murder asked the court for a continuance while citing a competency issue.
Robert Edwin Lewis appeared before Associate District Judge Joshua King on Wednesday, Aug. 3. His attorney, Velia Lopez, asked for more time so that an expert could evaluate him.
Lewis was in court June 15 when Lopez asked for the continuance, and it was granted. King asked Lopez if she wanted an expert to visit Lewis before she filed a formal motion. Lopez said the expert her team chose can't visit her client until at least October. She asked that the court give her until December or January so she could get a report on Lewis from the expert.
Kim Hall, who sat in for the district attorney's office, said there was no reason why the paperwork couldn't be filed if Lewis' team had concerns about his competency.
"I know there was a request to set this out until the first of the year; there's no reason for that to be continued this long. The victims and this family have a right to a speedy trial as well, and I don't know why we can't have a short setting to get ... the application for competency filed," said Hall.
Lopez said the motion can't be filed until competency is determined and they need the expert for that.
"I recognize that the family is of importance to the district attorney as [Lewis] is important to me," Lopez said. "I think it's important for everyone to understand this is a capital case. This could take us three or four years to complete."
King echoed Hall and said if there were concerns with competency, the motion should have been filed already.
"I'm not inclined to pass the case up that far because I think if you... file that motion, we could have a report back and be prepared to take whatever next step is necessary long before the timeframe you're asking the court to continue this," King said.
The judge reminded Lopez she had every right to have Lewis evaluated by any expect she chooses, but the court wasn't going to pass the case for months for her to consider filing the motion.
King said he wanted to set a date and time for a preliminary hearing. Lopez reiterated she would not be ready to proceed until December.
"Counsel believes if there is an issue in competency, [Lopez] is required to file a motion for competency and an evaluation can't be done without an order of the court. None of that can happen until the motion gets filed and the court orders it to be done," Hall said.
King ultimately denied Lopez's motion for a continuance and set the preliminary hearing for Oct. 3 at 9 a.m.
Lewis pleaded not guilty to all three counts of murder. He did confess to killing Quinley Lamb, 43, and Brian Shackelford, 51, both of Sharp County, Arkansas, and DeAnna Tippey, 36, of Cherokee County. Tippey was Lewis' girlfriend.
The bodies were discovered in shallow graves on the property in January at 25182 E. 770 Road in Cherokee County.
