Judge restricts evidence testing in double homicide case / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, July 24, 2008

A judge has granted a defense attorney's motion in a Lawrence homicide case that law enforcement cannot conduct any more lab testing on evidence without court approval.

By George Diepenbrock

July 24, 2008

A judge has granted a defense attorney's motion in a Lawrence homicide case that law enforcement cannot conduct any more lab testing on evidence without court approval.

Kellam D. Jones, 17, of Lawrence, was back in court Thursday as attorneys argued a series of motions in the June 7 incident at 1311 Del. that ended in the shooting deaths of Roland Klundt, 20, of Lawrence, and Gage Hauk, 18, of McLouth.

Jones is charged as a juvenile with felony murder and attempted aggravated robbery in connection with Klundt's death because police have said he and Hauk went to the house intending to commit a robbery. A hearing Aug. 8 will determine whether prosecutors can try Jones as an adult.

District Judge Michael Malone on Thursday ruled on several motions ahead of that hearing, including a motion from Jones' attorney Craig Stancliffe aimed at making sure no lab testing procedures destroy potential evidence in the case.

"What I'm doing is ahead of time saying, we want some input in how that's conducted and who's doing it," Stancliffe said in court.

David Melton, a chief assistant Douglas County district attorney, objected and said Stancliffe would still have the ability to attack credibility of the methods and results of specific tests in court.

Malone said he respected the work of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, but he ruled anyway that a hearing must be required with court approval first before any more lab testing could be done.

"There can always be mistakes. For that reason, I concur with the motion," Malone said.

Prosecutors have presented little evidence in the case so far. One day after Jones was arrested, police said they believed the resident of the house, Klundt, shot Hauk and that Jones, who was 16 at the time, shot Klundt.