HOPING this is still on!!
Monday, July 14th:
*Trial set to begin (for both) (@ 8:30am ET) - GA -
LaTania 'Janell' Carwell (16) (Apr. 17, 2017, Augusta; found Mar. 8, 2018) –
*Leon Lamarr Tripp (38/now 45) step-dad arrested (5/23/17) & indicted & charged (3/13/18) of 2 counts of murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, cruelty to children in the 1st degree & concealing a death.
[Charges revised see below] Plead not guilty.
Bond $500K. DA will seek DP. Richmond County
Indicted &
re-charged (11/14/23) & arraigned (12/8/23) with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, family violence, cruelty to children & concealing death of another. Held without bond (11/14/23). Bond reduction
denied (3/25/24). Richmond County
*Indicted &
charged (10/3/23) & arraigned (10/20/23) with possession of contraband by inmate. Plead not guilty. Richmond County
*Tanya Faye Tripp (35/now 42) "mom" arrested (5/23/17), charged & indicted (3/13/18) of 2nd degree murder, concealing a death & harboring a fugitive.
[Charges revised see below] Plead not guilty.
$500K bond. Richmond County
Indicted &
re-charged (11/14/23) & arraigned (12/8/23) with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, family violence, cruelty to children in the first degree & concealing the death of another. Held without bond (11/14/23). Bond reduction
denied (3/25/24). Richmond County
Tanya failed to provide accurate info regarding the circumstances of her daughter’s abduction.
Trial set to begin on 7/14/25.
Judge Daniel J. Craig presiding. State attorney Deshala T. Dixon. Leon’s Defense attorneys Nathaniel L. Studelska & Laura M. Cobb. Tanya’s Defense attorney Arnold Ragas.
Court info from 2/2/18 thru 9/4/24 reference post #158 here:
https://www.websleuths.com/forums/t...d-mom-stepdad-charged-augusta-2.649996/page-8
9/29/24 Update: Due to the storm Helene aftermath, all jury trials have been postponed for at least a week & jurors who have been called are told not to report. All court proceedings have been postponed for Monday (9/30/24) & Tuesday (10/1/24). Trial to start on Wednesday, 10/2/24.
10/2/24 Court site update: The jury services page looks like no jury trials this week: "All jurors summoned for the week of September 30, 2024 have been excused for the week. Jurors will be reassigned to new dates & will receive a new summons in the mail. This is due to Hurricane Helene.
12/20/24 Update: We conclude that these statements were made by Tripp “on his own volition & without any prompting” or questioning by Investigator Grant. Smith v. State, 292 Ga. 620, 623 (4), 740 S.E.2d 158 (2013). And, given these circumstances, we further conclude that Tripp's statements to Investigator Grant during this timeframe should not have been suppressed under Miranda. See id. Additionally, the record reflects that, shortly after Tripp made these statements to Investigator Grant, Sheriff Roundtree & Tripp's attorney, Johnson, joined Tripp in the interview room. Tripp then spoke to Sheriff Roundtree & Johnson for approximately eight minutes, reiterating that, “if I can see my kids, my mama, and my wife, man, I'll resolve it today.” Johnson then asked to speak to Tripp privately, at which point Sheriff Roundtree left the interview room. At 3:37 p.m., Johnson & Sheriff Roundtree returned to the interview room, and Johnson advised Tripp that he had told the Sheriff, “[O]n advice of counsel, you have nothing more to say.” We conclude that, when Johnson entered the interview room, Tripp's statements to Johnson and Sheriff Roundtree from that point forward—until Johnson expressed a desire to speak with Tripp privately—should not have been suppressed under Miranda because Tripp's counsel was present, and Tripp has not claimed any other violation of his rights with respect to these statements that would warrant suppression. See Jenkins, 317 Ga. at 594 (2) (b), 894 S.E.2d 566 (holding that, under Miranda, “[o]nce warnings have been given,” if the defendant “states that he wants an attorney, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present”). We further conclude—and the State concedes—that any statements Tripp made to law enforcement officers after 3:37 p.m., when Johnson returned to the interview room with the Sheriff and Johnson and Tripp confirmed that he had “nothing more to say,” are inadmissible in this case. See Perez, 283 Ga. at 197, 657 S.E.2d 846 (“A person being subjected to custodial interrogation may at any time express his or her desire to remain silent and, thereby, end the interrogation.”). Accordingly, as to the June 9 interview, because Tripp chose to make spontaneous statements to law enforcement, because those statements were not elicited by interrogation, and because Tripp's counsel was present during the remainder of the interview until 3:37 p.m.—the point at which the State concedes Tripp's future statements are inadmissible—we conclude that Tripp's statements prior to 3:37 p.m. were not obtained in violation of Miranda and should not have been suppressed on that ground. See Doricien, 310 Ga. at 655, 853 S.E.2d 120. Judgment affirmed in part and reversed in part.
1/15/25 Docket updates: Leon: Remittitur Supreme Court of Appeal-affirmed in part & reversed in part. Remittitur Supreme Court of GA-Affirmed in part & reversed in part. 1/17/25 Docket update: Tanya: Notice of Leave of Court. 3/4/25 Docket update: Motion for Bond.
4/21/25 Docket update: Leon: Notice of Leave of Absence.
6/3/25 Docket update: Jury trial is set to begin on 7/14/25 @ 8:30am for both.
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