Hearing in fatal police-chase crash delayed again

June 12--The case of the stolen car that killed a Smiths Station man during a two-state police chase has been delayed again.

A Columbus Recorder's Court hearing for 18-year-old Dezhaun Shynotez Dumas already was postponed from 8 a.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Monday so the court could appoint him a public defender.

But when Dumas twice Monday was called before Judge Julius Hunter for his preliminary hearing, no attorney was available. The lawyers court administrators had contacted were all busy with other cases, Hunter said.

So, Dumas' hearing has been delayed again, this time to 8 a.m. Friday.

Investigators say Dumas was the driver of a stolen Honda CRV that hit Frank McLemore's Nissan Murano at Crawford Road and 17th Avenue in Phenix City around 7:30 p.m. June 3.

McLemore, 72, was pronounced dead at 12:11 a.m. the next day at the Columbus Midtown Medical Center.

Dumas faces multiple traffic charges in Columbus, where the police chase began before continuing to Phenix City.

The public defender's office for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit cannot represent him because it already represents his co-defendant, Robert Fletcher, 17, who police said was a passenger in the stolen vehicle.

Robert Fletcher

Robert Fletcher

Photo from the Muscogee County Jail.

The public defender's office cannot represent two defendants in the same case, lest their interests conflict. Were one to "flip" to testify for the prosecution, the other would be left undefended.

So for Dumas, the court must appoint an independent "conflict public defender," who doesn't work for the public defender's office.

Dumas' mother addressed the court Monday, asking how her son can get a fair trial if attorneys keep saying that representing him constitutes a conflict. "Every lawyer is saying it's a conflict of interest," she said.

Hunter advised her that the preliminary hearing is not a trial. It is held only to determine whether the court has "probable cause" or finds sufficient evidence to send the case on to Superior Court for prosecution.

Also attending Dumas' hearing was Betty Mayfield, who afterward said it was her car thieves stole before crashing it in Phenix City.

She said she's following the case closely because prosecutors have told her she may be called to testify. Also she wants to show support for the McLemore family, she said.

Her car twice has been stolen recently, she said. She suspects some teenagers took it from her Wise Street home on May 27, as they left cake in it and may have been celebrating a high school graduation. They left the car at a Chevron gas station on Victory Drive, where it was out of gas, she said. Police found it there on May 29, Memorial Day.

On June 3, it was stolen again, and this time the thieves tore the bumper off by hitting a fence backing out of her yard, she said.

Her daughter, Betty Wood, got a call about 2 a.m. from someone who recognized the vehicle on Cusseta Road, she said. Then at 7:30 p.m., a church member called and said he had seen the car, and then police started chasing it.

Police now have possession of the vehicle, which is being held as evidence. Mayfield said her insurance company paid for a rental car she's using.

In court Monday, Hunter advised Dumas that he may be able to get out of jail on bond, in Columbus, though he's now wanted for murder in Phenix City, because of McLemore's death.

His Columbus bonds are set at $15,000 for fleeing police, $6,000 for theft by receiving stolen property, $2,500 for aggressive driving, $600 for driving while his license is suspended, $500 for reckless driving, and $75 each for failing to yield and failing to maintain his traffic lane.

In Phenix City, Dumas faces charges of murder, second-degree assault and bringing stolen property across state line.

Fletcher in Columbus is charged with theft by receiving stolen property. He is being held in the Muscogee County Jail.

Tim Chitwood: 706-571-8508, @timchitwoodle

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