A July trial date was set Friday in the case of a former Winnfield Police officer accused of killing a man with a taser stun-gun while the man was still in police custody.
Attorneys for both Scott Nugent, the former Winnfield officer, and the state met with Judge John R. Joyce on Friday and set a trial date of July 13.
A deadline of March 26 for all motions has been set.
Joyce was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear the case as Judge Jacque D. Derr recused himself as he's been "associated" with defendant Officer Scott Nugent on "several occasions."
Nugent has been charged with manslaughter and malfeasance in office in connection with the death of Barron "Scooter" Pikes.
Nugent, whose firing from the Winnfield Police Department was upheld by the Civil Service Board, is accused of shocking Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser within 14 minutes. Those shocks were made while Pikes was handcuffed and in police custody in connection with a drug possession warrant in January 2008, officials said.
Winn Parish Coroner Dr. Randy Williams has said Pikes did not have PCP or cocaine in his system as officers alleged, and Pikes, whose cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest on the death certificate, may have already been dead before the last two Taser shocks.
Nugent's attorney Phillip Terrell has said he is confident Nugent will be found innocent once all the evidence is presented. If convicted of both charges, Nugent faces up to 45 years in prison.
The family of Pikes filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year against not only Nugent but also the city of Winnfield, the mayor, City Council, police chief and other officers on the force, in addition to Taser International Inc. -- the manufacturer of the stun gun device Nugent used.
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