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Last updated on Wednesday, August 12, 2015
(BLOOMINGTON) - Monroe Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff ruled that the case against a Bloomington man will not be dismissed, even though it has lingered in the court system more than three years.
The man is charged with being a habitual offender and is facing five felonies charged related to a tobacco and liquor store robbery.
The Herald Times reports that the public defender representing 38-year-old Scott Afanador filed a motion July 1 seeking dismissal, citing an Indiana law that requires that criminal cases be adjudicated within one year of being filed - unless the delays are caused by the defendant.
Judge Diekhoff ruled that 1,079 days had passed since Afanador's arrest. She attributed most of the delays to Afanador and his lawyer, including a nine-month stint arising from a motion the state appeals court refused to consider. She ruled that as of August 4 the court has 72 days remaining to being the case to trial.
Diekhoff set an August 17 trial date, but it has been canceled because Afanador is preparing to file a second appeal of facts in his case to the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Afanador says he is innocent of the July 2012 armed robbery of Karton King Discount Tobacco and Liquor on South Walnut Street.
He is facing charges armed robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious felon, carrying a handgun without a license, criminal recklessness while armed and theft. The prosecutor's office also filed a habitual offender petition, citing his prior criminal record as a reason to increase any jail sentence.
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