Suspect in fatal beating outside Steele's Dive waives hearing
May 13—TUPELO — A man charged with first degree murder for the brutal beating death of a man outside a west Tupelo bar waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
Ashland-based attorney Tony Farese had scheduled the Friday morning hearing in Tupelo Municipal Court for his client Timothy Albert Turner, 37, presumably to ask the judge to again consider bond. During Turner's initial appearance April 18, Judge Willie Allen ordered him held without bond.
Farese had a court reporter standing by to record the proceedings. Instead, he signed the paperwork to waive the hearing and ushered Turner's family out of the courtroom.
"On the advice of counsel, my client waived his right to a preliminary hearing," Farese said. "There has been a lot of publicity this week that could potentially taint a jury pool. We didn't want to do anything that would hurt our ability to receive a fair and impartial jury."
The case was back in the news this week when the Daily Journal reported Wednesday that the victim's family has filed a civil wrongful death lawsuit against Turner and the restaurant.
While he did not ask city court to reconsider bond, Farese is still working to get his client released. He filed a writ of habeus corpus on April 20, asking the Lee County Circuit Court to consider setting a reasonable bond for Turner.
If that action fails, Turner will likely remain in the Lee County Jail until after the case is presented to the next grand jury, which is scheduled to meet within the next two months.
Turner is accused of killing Leonard "K.C." Cooper, 31, of Fulton, in the West Main Street parking lot of Steele's Dive around 1:30 a.m. on April 16. The establishment's security cameras recorded the assault and reportedly show Turner knocking Cooper to the ground and then punching him in the head, as well as slamming his head on the concrete and stomping on him.
During the assault, Turner got in a car and left, but later returned and continued to assault Cooper, who did not appear to move after the initial assault. Cooper's hands showed no defensive wounds.
In the days following the assault, Cooper's mother Madonna Steele contacted Booneville attorney Casey Lott. He filed the civil lawsuit which asks for a jury trial and names Turner, Steele's Dive and up to 20 John Does as defendants.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified actual and compensatory damages, including: pain and suffering, funeral and burial expenses, lost future earnings and loss of companionship. If a jury decides that the defendants' actions were "grossly negligent, wanton, willful and reckless," the family could also be entitled to punitive damages.
Editor's Note: Madonna Steele is not related to Steele's Dive owner Jason Steele.
