January 9, 2013 at 5:27 p.m.
Hildebrand case delayed again
Hildebrand case delayed again
As a result of the discovery delay, the case against John Hildebrand will not be resolved until at least late February.
Hildebrand, 47, is facing a felony charge of theft in a business setting as well as five felony charges related to the distribution of hazardous substances.
"We seek the evidence because only then can we talk about how to proceed," said David Penn, Hildebrand's attorney, during a pretrial conference in Oneida County Circuit Court Tuesday.
Penn said he has only received CDs containing law enforcement interviews with Hildebrand. There are many items referenced in the criminal complaint that he still doesn't have, such as interviews conducted with witnesses, Penn told the court.
Judge Patrick O'Melia noted that it has been nearly a year since charges were first brought against Hildebrand. He said it is time to finally resolve the matter and the demand for discovery shouldn't be holding things up.
"How does he know what he wants? He doesn't even know what's out there," O'Melia said in response to Oneida County Assistant DA Scott Moller asking Penn to prepare a list of the evidence he still needs. "It should be the other way around. The state gives everything it has to the defense."
O'Melia scheduled a final pretrial conference for Feb. 26 and officially put the case on the calendar for a jury trial April 11-12. One option for the current dilemma of the defense still seeking evidence from the state would be to suppress that evidence at the jury trial, O'Melia said.
"No more adjournments. Let's just get this done," he said.
Moller said the DA's office will work to get Penn everything that he is requesting. Once he receives that evidence, Penn said he thinks a plea agreement can be reached. The criminal charges against Hildebrand go back to January of last year.
Initially, Hildebrand had been facing charges related to the manufacture/delivery of amphetamine, more specifically what is known as "bath salts." But the state crime lab determined that the substances seized from Hildebrand did not contain either of the two controlled substances commonly found in "bath salts."
Those charges were dismissed and the Oneida County District Attorney's office filed new charges related to the distribution of hazardous substances in May.
The criminal complaint associated with those charges includes information from several individuals, including a confidential informant who claimed to have received drugs from Hildebrand or used them with him. One of the witnesses told police Hildebrand called the substance she used with him "bath salts."
Also, during an interview with investigators, Hildebrand admitted to purchasing a substance similar to bath salts, from an overseas distributor, and providing the substance to others for the purpose of "getting high."
In August, Hildebrand was charged with a sixth felony, theft in a business setting.
According to the criminal complaint, Oettinger Excavating claims Hildebrand owes the company $5,000 for work completed on a project in November 2010. Oettinger has been unsuccessful in collecting payment from Hildebrand and got law enforcement involved.
According to the complaint, Hildebrand told a detective he didn't have the money to pay the bill and was filing for bankruptcy. Penn said the main case, and what he is still seeking evidence for, are the drug charges. He said it wouldn't be difficult to reach a resolution on the theft charge once the drug matter is resolved.
Each felony charge against Hildebrand allows for a maximum prison sentence of 3 and 1/2 years. He remains free on $10,000 cash bail.
Kyle Rogers may be reached at [email protected].
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