Court waiting on psych test in murder case
Published 10:23 am Tuesday, November 10, 2015
A court hearing for Yaquilla Washington, 27, has been continued until Nov. 16 as the results of the defendant’s psychiatric evaluation were not available Monday. This is the fourth hearing continued while the court waits on the results.
Washington, the man accused in the Dec. 24 death of Demetrius Wilson, pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. Washington was indicted in March for one count of first-degree murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
On Dec. 24, police arrested Washington after he allegedly shot Wilson at the Cloverdale apartments in Brookhaven. Police say Wilson had returned to the Cloverdale area from shopping with his girlfriend and noticed a man looking at him. Wilson and Washington allegedly engaged in a short conversation before Wilson and his girlfriend drove to another house in Cloverdale.
The girlfriend told police she entered a house and when she returned to the car she heard an argument between the two men followed by Washington allegedly shooting Wilson with a Smith & Wesson .38 special handgun.
Fred Hill III
The case of Fred Hill III, a 24-year-old charged with first-degree murder, has been set for trial for Feb. 8, 2016.
Hill, of 1515 Spur Lane, was indicted on Sept. 11 on a first-degree murder charge. Hill was also indicted for allegedly shooting into a dwelling, possession of a firearm by a felon and having a cellphone in jail.
Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said the April 2 fatal shooting likely stemmed from a dispute between Hill and the suspect. The suspect was found dead at the scene on Spur Lane when the sheriff’s department and ambulance arrived.
During a court hearing June 29 presided over by Circuit Court Judge David Strong, Hill’s council approached with a motion to reduce his bond to an amount that could be paid by the family.
Strong granted a bond reduction to $500,000 with conditions. If bond was met for Hill he would have to live in the city of Brookhaven with his family, he could not travel within a one-mile radius of where the crime was committed and he would have no contact with the victim’s family or anyone associated with the case.
Hill remains in Lincoln County Jail