NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A man accused of fatally stabbing two young women inside a Nashville tanning salon more than 21 years ago wants the case to be dismissed because the state ignored his right to a speedy trial, his lawyer said.
Attorney Kyle Mothershead argued during a hearing Monday that prosecutors had for years ignored Patrick Streater’s written requests for them to invoke a portion of Tennessee law that says he has a right to a trial in 180 days, The Tennessean reported (https://tnne.ws/2noRXh7).
During the hearing, the state presented two witnesses who said Streater never filed the appropriate paperwork to invoke the 180-day deadline.
The law applies specifically to prisoners who need to be extradited to another state. Streater, 41, was indicted on murder charges in 2013 while he was serving time in California for robbery.
The robbery sentence ended in 2015 and Streater is now being held in Tennessee on two counts of premeditated first-degree murder. Streater is accused of killing Tiffany Campbell and Melissa Chilton, both 18, on Feb. 22, 1996 inside the tanning salon where the women worked.
Mothershead also argued that Streater’s bond, set at $750,000, should be reduced, citing a previous argument that police arrested the wrong man in the case.
Inmate Quenton Hughes testified that another man, David Ewin, had told him years after the slayings that he had killed Campbell.
“Mr. Streater is innocent, and he’s been incarcerated now for about a year and a half on this case and he should be released,” Mothershead said.
Nashville Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins said the hearsay testimony of convicted criminals was not enough evidence to make him lower Streater’s bond.
Streater, who is awaiting Watkins’ decision over the paperwork dispute, is scheduled for trial in July.
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Information from: The Tennessean, https://www.tennessean.com
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