A Lake Criminal Court judge reluctantly agreed Thursday to reschedule a trial for January for a man accused of fatally shooting three family members and setting their Gary, Indiana home on fire in 2019.
31-year-old Reginald J. Carter told Judge Salvador Vasquez he agreed to the delay.
Carter has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and one count of arson in connection with the shooting deaths of his girlfriend, Yoasha Carter; her aunt 51-year-old Nefretiri Jones; and her cousin 33-year-old Dwayne Jones.
Police allege Carter killed the family members Oct. 25, 2019, and set fire to the house he shared with them in the 3500 block of West 20th Avenue in Gary’s Tolleston section.
Similar: Woman Set Husband on Fire Because She Thought He Poisoned Her Chicken Wings
During his initial hearing in October 2019, Carter gave his relative’s Chicago address and said his house had been burnt down.
Carter’s attorney, John Cantrell, requested to continue the trial, which had been set to begin August 2.
Cantrell said the coronavirus pandemic contributed to a backlog of cases, and he has not had enough time to prepare for trial.
Lake County Supervisory Deputy Prosecutor Michelle Jatkiewicz said she didn’t object to a continuance of the trial, because her schedule also has been hectic and she wanted to be fair to the defense.
Vasquez said all four of Lake County’s Criminal Division courts are backed up because of the pandemic and that he was not happy about granting a further continuance in Carter’s case.
After some discussion, the parties scheduled Carter’s trial for the week of January 3. A pretrial hearing was set for December 9.
[…] Similar: Trial Rescheduled for January for Man Charged in Triple Homicide and Arson […]