MORGANTOWN — The trial for two men accused of murdering 21-year-old West Virginia University student Eric Smith Feb. 28, 2020, is set for early June, and as far as Judge Susan Tucker is concerned it’s set in stone.
She said as much in a motions hearing to prepare for the trial, which is expected to last four days, noting that she set aside the time to spend but not to waste.
Terrell Linear, 22 and Shaundarius Reeder, 21 are each charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
However, the case could be resolved by plea before that trial happens. That would require Monongalia County Prosecutor Perri DeChristopher to extend another offer or reopen the previous one.
DeChristopher said she offered a plea to Linear and Reeder in March, and it is no longer open. She declined to discuss the specifics of the offer in open court, and Tucker agreed that discussing the terms of the offer could violate attorney-client privilege. The offer also has to happen before trial preparation starts. Tucker set a hard deadline for which any offer needs to be rejected or accepted — unless it is to the charges as indicted by the grand jury, which is she required to accept.
Linear’s attorney George Cosenza said that after speaking with his client about the plea offer he was asked to reject it and prepare for trial. Recently during a meeting, Linear said he wanted to accept the offer so Cosenza relayed that to DeChristopher and is waiting to hear back. If she extends the same offer, Linear is prepared to accept it, Cosenza said.
Dustin Schirmer, an attorney representing Reeder, said he and another attorney will visit Reeder this weekend to discuss the same opportunity if it presents itself.
Several motions about evidence were cleared up and Tucker outlined the next steps in preparation for the trial and set deadlines for when items such as the witness lists, jury questions and jury instructions needed to be sent in.
A motion by Cosenza to suppress statements made by Linear was not heard and will be discussed at the next hearing. The attorney said he didn’t want to discuss the matter since it could be a moot point, given the plea discussions.
As the attorneys for both men are based in Parkersburg and do not regularly practice in front of Tucker, there was some discussion on how things worked in her courtroom. Tucker also asked the two attorneys to prepare transportation orders for their clients for the trial.
Reeder and Linear have been in North Central Regional Jail since their arrest Feb. 28, 2020. They are being held without bond.
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