HAZARD – A Perry County man set to go to trial for the second time on an attempted murder charge will have to wait a few more weeks after his new trial was delayed during a court hearing on Thursday.
Tracy Napier, 38, was arrested by state police following what was described as a shootout outside of his home in Bonnyman in September 2010. Injured during the shooting was a man police identified as Carl Holbrook, who spent several days in the hospital recovering while Napier was jailed on allegations of attempted murder.
Commonwealth Attorney Teresa Reed claimed that Napier was attempting to kill Holbrook, while Napier’s defense attorney, John Hansen, argued that his client was defending himself from Holbrook. According to statements made at the trial, Holbrook had reportedly followed Napier to his home after the two were involved in an altercation earlier that evening.
A jury failed to render a verdict against Napier during a trial in August 2011, and Napier, who had been in jail for nearly a year, was then released on a surety bond and home incarceration to await a new trial.
That trial had been set for Monday, May 21, but according to a motion in Perry Circuit Court on Thursday, Reed requested that the May trial date be continued because the investigating officer was unavailable on that date.
Hansen said he did not object to a continuance, and Judge Bill Engle set a new trial date of Monday, June 11.
If convicted, Napier could face a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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