DADE CITY, Fla. — A judge in Pasco County is hearing several motions in the case of Curtis Reeves.
Reeves is the retired Tampa police captain accused of opening fire inside a Pasco movie theater in 2014, killing Chad Oulson.
The two men were arguing over Oulson’s texting during the movie previews.
It’s been eight years since this shooting happened.
Since then, Curtis Reeves’ motion to have the charges against him dismissed based on a stand your ground defense was denied, and Reeves has been living at home under house arrest.
Despite concerns over COVID-19, the judge says this trial has to finally get underway and has set aside the next few days to handle some last-minute motions.
Reeves, now 79, was not in court Wednesday, but his lawyers were.
“We’re eager. We’re ready to go. We’ve been ready to go for quite some time,” said Reeves Defense Attorney Richard Escobar.
Judge Susan Barthle has made it clear that she wants these legal issues cleared up in time for jury selection, which is slated for Feb. 7.
Among the motions being heard are whether to exclude the testimony of defense witness Michael Knox, who testified during Reeves' stand your ground hearing, saying surveillance tape surveillance video from inside the theater doesn’t tell the whole story.
Prosecutors say Knox has a conflict of interest.
The state is also asking Judge Barthle to exclude character witness testimony from Reeves’ wife, Vivian, and his daughter Jennifer – as well as Vivian‘s testimony about being scared at the time of the shooting.
“You can’t prove somebody else’s emotional state – by someone who’s not in the same shoes,” argued Prosecutor Glenn Martin.
But Reeves’ defense lawyer Dino Michaels disagreed.
“It’s proper for the court to consider the individual sitting next to him, and in front of Chad Oulson, to be able to say that she felt scared or frightened,” said Michaels.
Reeves’ defense lawyers have motions of their own. They’re asking the court to allow them to address Oulson’s widow, Nicole, as an adverse party as well as witnesses from the Pasco sheriff’s Office. The legal distinction would allow the defense to use leading questions at trial.
As the case moves forward, the Judge Barthle recognizes the challenges of dealing with COVID.
The judge has set up parameters for how the jury will be selected in this case and will allow for four alternative jurors - rather than the standard two - to help ensure they won’t run out of panel members if some of them were to become ill during the course of the trial.
“Two and a half weeks,” said Escobar. “February 7th we’re ready to go.”