Judge denies sequester request, continues Heaman vehicular-homicide case and sets motions and trial dates

The court took up pretrial motions in the Heaman vehicular-homicide case and declined the defense's request to sequester jurors, saying there had not been a showing that a sequestered jury was necessary to preserve the defendant’s right to an impartial trial. “As a result of that, I'm going to deny the motion for a sequestered jury,” the judge said.

Defense counsel had asked for sequestration and preserved the right to seek a change of venue, citing publicity about the incident and noting that it occurred on property associated with Loretta Lynn. The prosecutor objected, saying logistical constraints made sequestration impractical on short notice and that the amended suppression motion filed by the defense expanded the earlier motion and would require additional witnesses the state was not prepared to present immediately.

The judge reviewed the applicable criminal-procedure rule for pretrial motions and found the defense motions timely under Rule 12, which requires certain defects and suppression claims to be raised before trial. But because the amended suppression motion (challenging blood-draw evidence) would require the state to present technical witnesses — including the technician who drew the blood — the court said the state needed time to secure those witnesses and, in fairness, granted a continuance.

The court ordered the motions set for hearing on October 6 and indicated the parties could seek additional dates for argument in July if schedules permitted. The judge also set the Heaman vehicular-homicide trial tentatively for Feb. 10–12, 2027, noting the criminal docket on Feb. 9 would be used to organize the trial calendar.

The ruling preserves the defense’s ability to renew sequestration or a venue change at the start of jury selection if pretrial publicity prevents seating an impartial jury. The court said it would revisit those requests if difficulty in jury selection emerged.