COVID-19 test result halts Georgia death penalty trial

Delay could impact Ahmaud Arbery murder trial in Brunswick
Eatonton, GA - Ricky Dubose (front) and Donnie Rowe enter the Putnam County courthouse in June 2017 for their first court appearance after they were recaptured. BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Eatonton, GA - Ricky Dubose (front) and Donnie Rowe enter the Putnam County courthouse in June 2017 for their first court appearance after they were recaptured. BOB ANDRES /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Jury selection in Donnie Rowe’s death penalty trial in South Georgia was halted Thursday when a defense attorney’s at-home test for COVID-19 turned up positive.

If jury selection has to be delayed and restarted late this month, it could impact the Ahmaud Arbery murder trial set for Oct. 18 in Brunswick. That’s because the trial for Rowe, whose lead attorney also represents one of three men charged in the Arbery case, would likely end after Oct. 18.

Superior Court Judge Brenda Trammell, who is presiding over Rowe’s case, said she will wait until Rowe’s lawyers receive results from more accurate laboratory tests before moving forward. Those results are expected Saturday.

Rowe is one of two men charged with killing two guards during an escape in Putnam County from a prison bus in 2017. He and co-defendant Ricky Dubose, who is to be tried separately, were found and arrested three days later in Tennessee.

Because the case generated so much publicity, jury selection is being conducted in Grady County. When 17 people — 12 jurors and five alternatives — are selected, they will be transported about 200 miles north to Eatonton, where they will be sequestered in a hotel and hear the case at the Putnam County courthouse.

Jury selection was halted because Adam Levin, one of Rowe’s lawyers, tested positive before leaving for the courthouse Thursday morning, co-counsel Frank Hogue said. He also felt like he had some symptoms of the virus.

That same day, Levin, Hogue and co-counsel Erin Wallace got a laboratory test. If they all test negative on Saturday, the plan is to resume jury selection Tuesday, Hogue said. If anyone tests positive, Trammell plans to resume jury selection on Sept. 27.

If jury selection resumes Sept. 27 in Grady County, it is expected to take a few more days to be completed. So far, after eight days in court, only 41 people for a required pool of 57 potential jurors have been qualified to serve.

Hogue, who also represents Greg McMichael, one of the men charged with murder in Arbery’s slaying, estimated Rowe’s trial when moved to Putnam could take at least three weeks — meaning it would end after the scheduled Oct. 18 startup date of the Arbery trial.

Frank Hogue has practiced with his wife and law partner, Laura, since 1997 out of the Macon firm Hogue & Hogue. They have practiced exclusively in criminal defense since then. Frank Hogue has tried all kinds of criminal cases in state and federal courts. (BRANT SANDERLIN / AJC file photo)

Credit: BRANT SANDERLIN / BSANDERLIN@AJ

icon to expand image

Credit: BRANT SANDERLIN / BSANDERLIN@AJ

Rowe’s attorneys had previously asked Trammell to delay the death penalty trial because of the COVID-19 surge across Georgia fueled by the delta variant. But Trammell denied the request.

During jury selection, three prospective jurors were sent home after notifying the court that they’d had recent exposures to people with COVID-19, Hogue said.

At the courthouse in Cairo, a city in Grady County, deputies are taking the temperatures of people before they enter. Prospective jurors are initially brought into the courtroom in groups of about 30.

While jurors are not required to wear masks, many have chosen to. But when called into the courtroom, most jurors sit shoulder to shoulder, not practicing social distancing.

“I’m very concerned that one or more of us will get infected,” Hogue said Friday. “I’m worried not only just for our team, but also for about 20 other people who are in the courtroom every day. COVID is just lurking all around us.”

District Attorney Wright Barksdale said he hopes the test turns up negative for Levin and noted he had sent his best wishes to the defense attorney in an email Thursday night.

“We’re doing the best we can do,” Barksdale said. “We wish nothing but great health for all involved. We know the defense has a job to do and we want them to be healthy and effective.”