Trial postponed in kidnapping case

COSHOCTON - Common Pleas Judge Robert Batchelor has postponed a jury trial for a Fresno man charged with kidnapping three people in December.

Dean T. Richard, 49, of 50095 County Road 186, had been scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing Friday morning before Batchelor on felony charges stemming from a Dec. 13 incident in the 900 block of South 16th Street, Coshocton.

Richard also had been scheduled for trial starting Feb 23 on three counts of kidnapping, and single counts of carrying a concealed weapon, a Smith and Wesson .38 Special, and tampering with evidence, the gun. The kidnapping charges also carry firearms specifications, which could each lead to an additional three years in prison if Richard is convicted as charged, and additional specifications making the handgun subject to forfeiture. He pleads not guilty to all charges.

Columbus attorney Samuel Shamansky, newly hired to represent Richard, on Thursday requested a two-week continuance for the pretrial, which Batchelor granted. The judge scheduled the new pretrial conference for 2 p.m. Feb. 26 and said he will schedule a new trial date during that hearing.

Richard is being held in the Coshocton County Justice Center on $250,000 bond, previously continued by Batchelor.

A grand jury indicted Richard on the charges Jan. 22. He has remained in the County Jail since his arrest Dec. 14.

jwilliams6@gannett.com

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