Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney Tonkovich hopes a judge will reinstate a charge of attempted first-degree murder against a rural Perry man.
A Douglas County District Court judge dismissed an attempted-murder case this week after a prosecutor failed to show for a pre-trial conference.
Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney Tonkovich said her office accepts responsibility for errors that resulted in the dismissal, and that she has filed a motion asking Judge Paula Martin to reconsider the dismissal.
"No excuse. We missed it," Tonkovich said Thursday afternoon, two days after Martin dismissed charges of attempted first-degree murder and kidnapping against Ronnie L. McPherson, 53, of rural Perry.
Police say McPherson shot Kayla Riley three times March 21 outside an apartment in the 2600 block of Redbud Lane after holding her at gunpoint in his vehicle.
Now, instead of McPherson's trial beginning Monday morning, Martin will listen to the prosecution's request to reconsider the dismissal of the case.
The Douglas County assistant district attorney assigned to Martin's court is Marlon Williams.
In her order of dismissal, Martin wrote that Williams agreed to the conference date and was personally notified of the time orally and in writing.
"The court further finds that despite four phone calls to the district attorney's office and one personal visit to the district attorney's office by the administrative assistant for Division 5 (court), no assistant district attorney appeared, and according to staff, the district attorney indicated she was not interested in appearing," Martin wrote.
The status conference, a routine meeting that brings defense attorneys and prosecutors together before a trial to ensure both sides are prepared, originally had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, and a printed docket sheet in the district attorney's office showed that date. Prosecutors apparently didn't update their calendars when the conference date was changed to Tuesday.
Tonkovich said she filed the motion to reconsider Tuesday, after Martin dismissed the case.
"As soon as I found out what happened, I filed a motion to reconsider," Tonkovich said.
If Martin doesn't rule in favor of the motion, Tonkovich said she would refile the charges, and the case will begin again. The hearing on the motion is set for 9 a.m. Monday.
McPherson could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Riley, 36 at the time of the shooting, was not available for comment either.
Her father, former Lawrence Mayor Ed Carter, said he was disappointed about the scheduling mix-up.
"It is absolutely imperative this case be reinstated," Carter said. "That's the number-one highest priority concerning everyone involved. We need to get to the bottom of what is going on down there, and I fully intend to do that."
Carter said he was concerned about McPherson's whereabouts.
"Hopefully he has not left the country," he said. "Nobody seems to know where he is right now."
At the preliminary hearing, Riley testified that McPherson thought she had stolen his wallet. Riley met with McPherson at a restaurant to discuss the wallet, and he later pointed a gun at her in his vehicle and locked the doors, she said. Riley testified that although she didn't know where the wallet was, she told McPherson she did because she was afraid. She said she led him to another restaurant near her residence and was shot in the shoulder and groin areas as she ran back to her apartment.
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
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