Prosecutor to give update on Kalamazoo shooting case
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A conference Thursday in the case of People vs. Jason Brian Dalton likely will be brief.
The 45-year-old Uber driver is charged in a Feb. 20 shooting spree that killed six people and seriously injured two others. He faces six charges of open murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder and eight counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
On Thursday morning, Dalton's court-appointed attorney, Eusebio Solis of Albion, Mich., will meet with Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting to discuss the case.
The pre-exam conference is usually the first time the prosecutor and defense attorney meet to discuss the case, said a Battle Creek defense attorney and former Calhoun County assistant prosecutor, Brandon Hultink. Hultink is not connected to the Dalton case but explained that the conference usually happens within a week after a defendant is arraigned but before a preliminary examination in district court, which is scheduled within 14 days of arraignment.
In serious criminal cases, Hultink said the meeting is a chance for the defense lawyer to to meet with prosecutors to determine what available evidence, such as police reports, pictures, laboratory results and other items have or have not been forwarded to the defense.
"Often the prosecution does not yet have those things," Hultink said, so it's a time to discuss when material might be available.
The two sides might resolve some minor cases with a plea or a dismissal, he said.
"In more complicated cases, it is a chance for the defense and the prosecutor to talk," he said. "And it can be a time when the prosecutor might make a first offer in a proposed plea agreement," but in most serious cases no offer is extended to the defense.
In cases with a mental-illness component, the defense might ask for its client to be evaluated for competency to stand trial and for criminal responsibility to determine if the person charged was mentally ill at the time of the crime, Hultink said.
"It can be a benefit for all the parties if that is done early because it can affect the progress of the case," he said.
If a lawyer asked for a mental evaluation for a client, the preliminary examination would be delayed. Dalton's preliminary exam is scheduled for March 10 before Judge Christopher T. Haenicke of 8th Judicial District Court, but if Dalton is sent for an examination that hearing would be delayed several weeks.
The pre-exam conference is not open to the public, but Getting has scheduled an 11 a.m. ET Thursday news conference to discuss developments in the case.
Follow Trace Christenson on Twitter: @TSChristenson
Victims of the Kalamazoo shootings
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