A Millfield man accused of shooting his wife while she slept will have to face a jury trial in September.
Jerry Lewis, 60, is charged in Athens County Common Pleas Court with felonious assault, theft and forgery. The prosecution alleges he shot his now ex-wife, Connie, in the abdomen while she slept in August of 2011. She survived the gunshot wound and later filed for divorce and also filed a civil lawsuit against Lewis for $1 million.
Lewis' attorney, assistant Ohio public defender Kirk McVay, filed a motion for continuance of the trial on Aug. 13 and on last week, Judge L. Alan Goldsberry denied the request.
"Given the overall history of the case, the Court believes there is no good cause to grant a request for a continuance," Goldsberry said in his decision.
McVay requested the continuance, the most recent of nine continuances recorded in the case documents since Dec. 2011, due to a scheduling conflict with a gunshot residue expert.
"While counsel otherwise would be prepared for trial on Sept. 17, it is imperative that a continuance be sought at this time given the importance that the testimony pertaining to GSR will have at trial of this case …," McVay wrote in his request.
The Athens County Prosecutor's Office objected to the motion based on availability of medical personnel from Grant Medical Center and the two years the case has been active, according to court documents.