Juan Laws is accused of killing Officer Garrett Crumby in March of 2023.
Juan Laws awaiting Thursday's status conference.Â
New developments in the case of the man accused of killing a Â鶹´«Ã½ Police officer. Juan Laws is charged with capital murder for the 2023 death of Officer Garrett Crumby.
In Thursday's status conference for Laws, the biggest surprise came when the defense asked how to proceed after Laws indicated to the court he wanted to withdraw his not guilty plea. Exactly what this means for Laws’ case will be decided next month.
During the hearing, both sides received a copy of Laws' mental health evaluation, something the judge says both parties should have already received. Since that report was just given to them on Thursday, the judge put the rest of the status hearing on hold until next month.
“To get this report back allows us to start moving forward with the case and actually start preparing to try it and get a date so this was a very important part of the case,†Chief Deputy Tim Gann said. “We’ll just see what happens moving forward.â€
Gann says, based on Laws’ mental health evaluation, the defense could assert a mental defense.
“We are seeking the death penalty which makes it much more important to make sure that we get it all right, so I’m glad the judge is taking some time to let us go over what we need to do and allow the defense to do what they need to do so everything is going the way it should,†Gann said.
The date for Laws’ next status conference has not yet been set. WAAY 31 will provide updates as we receive them.
