Judge Mark Stedelin has taken a motion under advisement to dismiss the Marion County Grand Jury indictment of Ricky Norwood for the 2015 murder of Dustin Rhynes.
Norwood’s attorney Dennis Hatch claimed during a Friday hearing State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth was inappropriately with the Grand Jury during the start of their deliberations and failed to make it clear to the Grand Jury they had a right to get an investigator of their own to get more information. Hatch said it was also clear from the transcript that some of the grand jurors had prior knowledge of those involved in the case and Hudspeth did nothing to remove them from the panel.
Hatch further argued there was no physical evidence presented to the grand jury to tie Norwood to Rhynes and when questioned for more information Hudspeth reportedly said that would be brought up down the road.
As a result, Hatch concluded he didn’t think there was proper deliberation or a proper indictment and asked for it to be dismissed or dismissed with prejudice which would prevent the charges from being refilled.
Hudspeth countered he was still in the grand jury room at the end of the testimony because jury members were asking questions. He said they were not deliberating at the time. Hudspeth maintained there was no prosecutorial misconduct in the proceedings and he was only trying to be fair in his answers and not misleading. He felt the case was fairly presented and the Grand Jury was aware of their right to recall witnesses and ask for more information. As a result, Hudspeth argued there was no basis for dismissal and if the Judge disagrees he asked the dismissal be done without prejudice so a new grand jury could be called.
Judge Stedelin told the court he wanted to read the transcript of the grand jury proceedings and look at the case law presented by both sides before making a decision. Stedelin said he would issue a ruling prior to a June 28th status hearing he has set for the case. Norton is currently being held in the Marion County Jail in lieu of $1-million bond.
Norton was arrested on the outstanding warrant while in federal prison in New Jersey in April 2022 seven years after Rhynes was found dead in an alley on Centralia’s northeast side where he had apparently died a few hours earlier as a result of a gunshot wound. Norwood was serving a 151 month federal prison term in New Jersey for drug offenses stemming from a raid on his home in Centralia in 2019.
Hudspeth earlier told WJBD-WSIQ news that new witnesses that had not been found previously provided enough evidence for him to proceed with the case.
