The murder trial of Darrius “D” Molson will be delayed, while the trial of accused police shooter Adam Hamilton will move up a day after a flurry of activity in Niagara County Court on Monday.
Molson’s murder trial, which was scheduled for the start of jury selection on Monday, has been put on hold at the request of prosecutors. Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffmann said an illness to a key police witness made the delay necessary.
Prosecutors and lawyers for Molson will be in front of Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III on Friday afternoon to try to set a new trial date.
Molson, 26, of the Falls and Phillip “Country” Holloway, 21, of Texas City, Texas, are both charged with gunning down Deion Wood, 27, as he sat on the porch of a home in the 1900 block of Ferry Avenue in the early morning hours of June 13. Both men have pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and a single count of criminal possession of a weapon.
A week ago, Molson turned down a plea deal from prosecutors but was granted a separate trial from Holloway. Holloway’s trial is now set for March 8.
At the same time, Niagara County Court Judge Sara Sheldon Sperrazza moved up the start of the trial of Hamilton, who is accused of shooting and wounding two Falls cops and his estranged girlfriend in a wild shoot-out in front of a South Avenue home on Feb. 7, 2009.
After a brief hearing Monday morning, jury selection in the case in the was shifted from Wednesday to later today.
Hamilton, 35, 2718 22nd St., has pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder, a single charge of attempted second-degree murder and one count of aggravated criminal contempt in the shooting of Falls Police Officers Walt Nichols and Mike Bird and the wounding of Stephanie Turk.
He is accused of both stabbing and shooting Turk, before turning his gun on cops.
