Judge rejects special prosecutor in Rusty Mack case

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.self storageDec. 17--COLONIAL HEIGHTS -- A judge has rejected a motion by Colonial Heights Commonwealth's Attorney William B. Bray to appoint a special prosecutor to try the last of the four defendants in the controversial Russell "Rusty" Mack death case.However, Circuit Judge Herbert C. Gill Jr. will allow Bray to bring in another attorney to assist because his office is short one prosecutor and he is preparing for a major capital murder trial set for March. Bray said he will seek someone outside his office, but "I do not yet know who or where the person will come from.""Since the judge denied the motion, I relish the opportunity to prosecute this case to conclusion," Bray said in a statement after Monday's hearing in Colonial Heights Circuit Court. "The judge's decision should put to rest rumors and speculation about my decision in the cases involving Rusty Mack. I view the denial of the motion as a vote of confidence from the court."Faced with growing hostility from family members and supporters of the victim after one defendant was acquitted and charges against two others were dropped, Bray filed the motion for a special prosecutor last week in the case of Margaret Blair Dacey, 18.Dacey is the only defendant among the four whose physical contact with Mack directly led him to fall, strike his head and fracture his skull, which ended in his death 17 days after the Feb. 11 confrontation outside his apartment.If the jud迷你倉e had granted the appointment of a special prosecutor, Bray and his office would have been excluded from the case entirely -- which is what Mack's family and supporters wanted.The judge's decision will allow Bray to retain responsibility for the case although he can utilize an outside attorney to assist in the prosecution.The prosecutor's office is short one attorney due to Bray's dismissal of Elizabeth Fields, who was initially the lead prosecutor in the Mack cases and did much of the preliminary work in developing them. Fields said Bray told her that she "didn't fit in," although she noted it was through her work that the city's first Sexual Assault Response Team was established. Her employment officially ends Dec. 31.Bray, and to a lesser extent Fields, has come under heavy criticism for the way the cases have been handled. Bray has been attacked by Mack family members for his decisions and performance. Fields has been criticized by the attorneys who represented the first three defendants for her "inexperience" and for the jumble of charges that were brought against the clients.Dacey's case is set for Feb. 6 and 7, but it is not clear whether her trial will be moved to a different venue, as was Jonathan Guy's trial, because of extensive pretrial publicity.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) Visit the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at .timesdispatch.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉樂器