On Aug. 30, United States District Judge Thomas Kleeh granted a motion to continue filing deadlines, the pre-trial conference, and trial dates in the case of Lance Kuretza, the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputy who pleaded not guilty on Aug. 25 after a federal indictment alleged he violated a man’s civil rights by using excessive force during a 2018 arrest and then falsified reports on the incident.
The motion was granted due to Kuretza hiring a private defense attorney, Lyle Dresbold of Shrager Defense Attorneys in Pittsburgh. The 45-day continuance will allow Dresbold time to review evidence, conduct interviews and build a defense for Kuretza.
The new timeline moves the jury selection and trial date from Oct. 18 to Dec. 5, with a pre-trial conference to be held Nov. 21.
Dresbold said he is still waiting to receive all of the discovery in the case and didn’t have much he could comment on at this time, however, he said he plans to look at the case with fresh eyes.
In a protective order by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Aloi Wednesday, the judge ordered that all materials provided by the U.S. in connection with the case will be made available to Kuretza’s defense team, however, to protect third parties in the case, Dresbold and his team are to remain in sole possession of discovery materials such as Facebook records.
The order states that the defense counsel will be able to review the restricted discovery with Kuretza, as well as potential witnesses, but cannot provide anyone outside those employed by the defense with copies of it.
Aloi’s order also states that at the conclusion of all stages of the case, all materials and copies made are to be destroyed or returned to the United States unless ordered otherwise.
Dresbold said once his team receives the documents and has a chance to talk about them, he is confident the defense’s filings will do the talking for them.
The Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office placed Kuretza on paid administrative leave following the indictment, but has not made additional comment on the case.
If convicted, Kuretza faces up to 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation and up to 20 years in prison for falsifying the report.
