The homicide case against 14-year-old Keller McQuay remains on hold after the Court of Appeals blocked a lower court’s decision about when prosecutors have to give defense attorneys evidence in the case.
McQuay was charged Sept. 14 as an adult after allegedly shooting his girlfriend, Vista Jackson, also 14, with a sawed off shotgun. He is charged as an adult with first degree reckless homicide, but McQuay’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Katie Gutowski, plans to ask a judge to move his case down to juvenile court.
Gutowski wants to review the evidence against her client because she said the judge who will decide whether or not McQuay’s case gets moved back to juvenile court won’t have everything they need to make a fully informed decision without the opportunity for her to introduce certain facts during McQuay’s preliminary hearing.
Racine County Circuit Court Judge Michael Piontek agreed with Gutowski, but the state asked the Court of Appeals to intervene. Appellate court justices Friday blocked Piontek’s decision and now it’s up to state Attorney General Brad Schimel to decide whether or not to file an interlocutory appeal asking the Court of Appeals to actually rule on the matter, a story in The Journal Times reads.
Until there’s a decision on whether or not the District Attorney’s office has to hand over its evidence in the case against McQuay to his lawyer, the case is not moving forward.
McQuay remains in the juvenile detention center on a $250,000 cash bond.