HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The trial of a man accused in the 2017shooting death of a one-year-old girl set to begin Tuesday has been postponed after prosecutors set aside the charges.
Derick Lamond Walton, Jr., 21, faced multiple charges, including felony homicide related to the death of Jaidah Morris.
A four-day jury trial was set to begin on Tuesday, October 27, but prosecutors with the Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion to “nolle pros”, or not prosecute at this time, and it was accepted by Circuit Court Judge Randall G. Johnson, Jr. on October 21.
Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor told CBS 6 on Monday that the motion was filed for “several considerations”.
"The prosecutor, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Toni Randall, represented to the Court that we were having some witness issues in light of the not guilty verdict from the week before. Such is a possibility with two cases set so close together because of trial deadlines,” Taylor wrote in an email.
Earlier this month, Walton was found not guilty on all six charges he faced in a 2019 shooting that left two people injured, including Kemiyah Edwards, who was five-years-old at the time.
“But, this also gives the Commonwealth an opportunity to reset. We get only one opportunity to present a case to trial to hold those who we believe are responsible accountable, and if we think there are some other aspects of the case that need to be revisited, then we owe it to the family and to Jaidah to do it right and give the absolute best effort,” added Taylor.
CBS 6 has reached out to Walton’s attorney for comment, but have not heard back.
The charges against Walton’s co-accused in the Morris case, Byron Archer III, were also set aside or “nol prossed” in November 2019.
