photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured on Sept. 4, 2024.

A Douglas County judge on Wednesday delayed a plea hearing for a man accused of recklessly discharging a firearm so that the conviction would not show up during an employer’s upcoming background check of the man.

Michael Page, the defense attorney for Miles Smothers, and Senior Assistant District Attorney Ricardo Leal told Judge Stacey Donovan that they were all ready to go Wednesday with a plea deal for Smothers. Page, however, asked the court to delay the proceeding so that the resulting conviction would not appear on Smothers’ record until after the employer background check was completed. He said that Smothers was “close” to procuring a job and that it would be better for his prospects if a background check occurred while Smothers’ record was still clean.

Leal did not object to the continuance or the reason for it, and Donovan agreed to delay the plea hearing for that reason — for nearly six weeks, until Oct. 15.

As the Journal-World previously reported, Smothers is accused of recklessly discharging a firearm — a felony — on Jan. 28 at a residence in the 1500 block of Wedgewood Drive that had three people inside, including two children. Smothers was 19 at the time.

The nature of the plea deal was not disclosed in court, nor was the type of job Smothers is undergoing a background check for.

Continuances are commonly granted in court cases for various reasons, including unavailable witnesses, ongoing plea negotiations and many other matters, resulting in cases reaching a conclusion sometimes years after a defendant’s arrest.