CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The man who allegedly committed separate murders in Charleston, including this year’s shooting death of Capital High School student K.J. Taylor, wants moved to another jail.
Dekotis Thomas, 19, of South Charleston, was arraigned Monday after a recent indictment on eight criminal charges including Taylor’s murder in April and the shooting death of Antwan Curnell, 28, of Dunbar. along Interstate 77 in Charleston in 2019.
Thomas, who was brought back West Virginia last week after being arrested in Ohio, pleaded not guilty to all charges. Judge Joanna Tabit set his tentative trial date for Dec. 6.
Thomas’ attorney Joe Spano asked Tabit to sign a motion to move him from the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston to the Central Regional Jail in Flatwoods.
“We believe there are no people that know people at this (Central) jail. Right now he’s been experiencing some death threats out at South Central,” Spano said. “He’s only been there a short time since being brought back. He’s in constant fear of his life at South Central.”
Tabit told Spano should would consider a more complete motion but she wants to do so in a hearing with testimony on the record.
“I would like a hearing on this issue. I want to be able to see the reasons. I want to be able to see what the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is,” Tabit said.
The state hasn’t done many prisoner transfers since COVID started.
Taylor, 18, a two-sports star at Capital, was shot and killed the evening of April 7, as he stood along Central Avenue on Charleston’s West Side. Police have yet to release a motive for the shooting.
Both the prosecution and the defense expressed doubt during Monday’s hearing that the case would be ready for trial by December. Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Adam Petry said there was a lot of evidence that needed to be passed on to Spano for discovery purposes.
“There is an enormous amount of discovery because both of these cases have lots of video,” Petry said. “There are over 99 DVDs worth of video,” he said.
Spano also said he would be filing a future motion to separate the two murder cases.
Lowrie hearing
Meanwhile, the co-defendant in the Curnell murder, Jordan Lowrie, also appeared before Tabit Monday with his new attorney Robert Dunlap. Tabit also scheduled that case for a Dec. 6 trial, admitting the case would likely eventually get a 2022 trial date.
Lowrie remains lodged without bail in the South Central Regional Jail.