Healea trial reset for January

Moniteau County Prosecutor Shane Healea's trial on assault and leaving the scene of an accident charges will be held next year.

Circuit Judge Frederick (Rick) Tucker set a Jan. 3-5 trial date after a Thursday conference call with both attorneys.

The trial had been scheduled to begin with jury selection June 5 in Shelbyville on a change of venue from Boone County. However, it had been placed on hold while the Missouri court of appeals in St. Louis considers defense attorney Shane Farrow's appeal of several pre-trial decisions.

The appeals court issued a "preliminary writ of prohibition" in March, ordering Tucker to refrain from taking actions in the case until further notice. The court Thursday amended its writ, allowing Tucker to make an order continuing the case.

Healea faces five charges lodged by a Boone County grand jury indictment after an Oct. 25, 2014, accident at Columbia's Addison's Restaurant, including leaving the scene of an accident where there was an injury or property damage and four counts of second-degree assault for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, resulting in an injury.

After the accident, Columbia officials reported Healea had backed his pickup truck, with the tailgate down, into a glass-block window facing a parking lot in the back of the restaurant. Four people inside the restaurant were hurt by the broken glass.

Then he drove out of the parking lot and parked on a nearby street.

Because Healea and Boone County Prosecutor Dan Knight were officers in the statewide prosecutors association, the attorney general's office was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case. The AG's office later won the grand jury indictment lodging the five charges against Healea.

Farrow, a Jefferson City lawyer, has argued at both court levels there should be no trial and no charges, because Healea's constitutional right to consult with his attorney, in private, was violated on the night of his arrest.

"(Judge Tucker) is in possession of a Special Master's report containing the content of (Healea)'s attorney-client communication and has ordered the report released to the public," Farrow wrote. "(Tucker) is without any legal authority to disseminate attorney-client privileged information to the public. Such a release of privileged information by (the judge) would constitute a clear abuse of discretion."

Farrow has argued several times Columbia police violated Healea's constitutional rights by placing him in a holding cell where "without (Healea)'s knowledge, the conversation was recorded on department audio and video equipment (and) was then provided to the Office of the Attorney General."

That phone call lasted 20 minutes and the recording equipment was able to capture both sides of the conversation, Farrow wrote.

He also argued the attorney general's office had access to the recording before they sought an indictment.

After Farrow made a similar argument to Tucker last year, the judge assigned his predecessor, now-retired Circuit Judge Hadley Grimm, as a special master to investigate the constitutional questions.

Tucker also denied Farrow's motion to suppress the search warrant that produced Healea's blood-alcohol information after the accident.