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A murder suspect denied release from prison pending trial is asking that the Indiana Supreme Court order the local court to grant his request.
Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed on July 5 denied a request from Christoval Dimas, 26, of Ligonier, to be released under Criminal Rule 4. That rule states that a defendant is entitled to release on his own recognizance if he is detained for more than six months without trial.
However, Reed said in open court on July 5 that he believes the Supreme Court's interpretation of Criminal Rule 4 is unconstitutional and is not appropriate where murder is concerned. The documents filed with the Supreme Court claim that Reed exceeded his jurisdiction by denying Dimas' release.
Notice of a petition for a writ of mandamus - an order from a superior court to an inferior court commanding the performance of a particular act - to the Indiana Supreme Court was filed in the Kosciusko Circuit Court case on Wednesday by Dimas' court-appointed attorney, R. Steven Hearn of Warsaw.
Dimas was indicted by a grand jury Sept. 6 in the death of 22-year-old Crystal Gayle Homister of Elkhart, whose burned skeletal remains were found in April 2000 in Kosciusko County. Homister was last seen Jan. 7, 2000, leaving a party in Elkhart County with a person of Mexican descent. Dimas is Mexican, according to court documents.
As a result of the grand jury indictment, Dimas was charged with murder, assisting a criminal and abuse of a corpse. Since then, the assisting a criminal charge was dismissed and no other arrests have been made in the case.
Dimas has been incarcerated since prior to being served with the arrest warrant in this case and was incarcerated in the Noble County Jail on a related charge - he is accused of intimidating a grand jury witness in the murder case in Noble County. The warrant was served on Sept. 13.
Not only is the Supreme Court case seeking Dimas' release, but it also notes that denial of his release will create a hardship in corresponding with his attorney. Dimas is currently being held at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Dimas was at the Wabash Valley Correctional Center at the request of Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner, but he was since transferred to Michigan City, court documents state.
Additionally, the newest documents in the case indicate that the "fatal flaw" in the local court's reasoning occurs because bond was set in the case. The $500,000 bond was set and has not been revoked.
The Indiana Constitution provides that offenses other than murder or treason shall be bailable by sufficient sureties. Murder or treason, according to Title I, Section 17, of the Indiana Constitution, shall not be bailable when the proof is evident or the presumption is strong.
Hearn wrote in his petition to the Supreme Court: "The unavoidable implication of that fact is that the presumption against the defendant, Christoval Dimas, was not strong and that he was entitled to be let to bail. That being the case, the potential constitutional pitfalls ... as to Criminal Rule 4(A) are not presently at issue."
Even if the Supreme Court petition is made quickly through that court, it is likely the matter will not be heard before the criminal case goes to trial in Kosciusko County. The four-day trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 4.
Waggoner previously said that any ruling by the Supreme Court will not affect the outcome of the trial. The petition for a writ of mandamus notes that if Dimas' release under Criminal Rule 4 is not granted prior to the start of the trial, the request will be moot.
A date for a Supreme Court hearing was not noted.
