Murder Charge Dismissed!

In a highly publicized case, my client was charged with Murder based upon the 2019 death of Berton Conley. This was a difficult case with thousands of pages of discovery. After reviewing all of the evidence, I was convinced that the state had seriously overcharged my client and that at most, he was possibly guilty of a much lesser offense. We held a probable cause hearing in July. This type of hearing is somewhat unusual and rarely used. I knew that winning the probable cause hearing would be impossible; but I knew that if we made a strong showing and aggressively attacked the state’s evidence, we may be able to convince prosecutors that my client wasn’t guilty of murder. It was a gamble but I felt it was worth the risk. The probable cause hearing went very well and it is my belief that we almost prevailed. Regardless, shortly after the probable cause hearing, negotiations resumed and my client ultimately pleaded guilty to Hindering Apprehension for credit for time served. The Murder charge and an Arson charge were both dismissed!