Opinion
3:22-CR-25-CAR-CHW-9
03-06-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. HENDREX NICELY, Defendant.
ORDER ON CONSENT MOTION TO CONTINUE TRIAL
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SENIOR JUDGE
Before the Court is the Defendant Hendrex Nicely's Consent Motion to Continue [Doc. 147] the pretrial conference scheduled for March 8, 2023 and the trial, which is set to begin on April 3, 2023, in Athens, Georgia. On October 11, 2022, the Grand Jury returned a multi-defendant, multi-count indictment charging Defendant with Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. On January 9, 2023, Defendant was arrested. Defendant was appointed counsel, pled not guilty at his arraignment, and detained pending trial. This is Defendant's second request for a continuance, and the Government consents to it.
In the Motion, Defense Counsel represents that additional time is needed to engage in plea negotiations in an attempt to resolve this case and case number 3:21-cr-31, which is also pending against Defendant in this district. Having considered the matter, the Court finds it serves the ends of justice to grant Defendant's request. The ends of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the interests of Defendant and the public in a speedy trial. Failure to grant a continuance would deny counsel reasonable time for effective preparation and could result in a miscarriage of justice. Thus, Defendant's Consent Motion to Continue [Doc. 147] is GRANTED, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be continued until the June 12, 2023 term of Court for the Athens Division. The delay occasioned by this continuance shall be deemed excludable pursuant to the provisions of the Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161.
SO ORDERED, this 6th day of March, 2023.