BELLEVILLE – Counsel for murder suspect David Fields on Friday told St. Clair County Circuit Judge Robert Haida that she is ready to move forward with the scheduled pre-trial conference next month.
Fields’ attorney Brittany Kimble of Chicago told Haida she is confident that “I have everything I think I need.”
Prosecutor Charles Colburn also said he was good to move forward with the case.
The pre-trial conference is set for June 22 at 1:30 p.m.
The trial is set for July 23 at 8:30 a.m.
Both parties agreed that they would submit anticipated jury instructions by June 22 and would exchange any motions one week before the trial.
Following the brief status conference, Fields shared a tearful embrace with family members.
Kimble previously told Haida in May that she was still receiving evidence four months after lead investigator Justin Biggs swore that defense counsel had it all.
Kimble told Haida at a May 8 hearing, “I’m just really not comfortable about whether we have everything.”
Fields has been waiting for his trial at county jail for more than a year in a case alleging he murdered Carl Silas of Belleville on Dec. 30, 2016.
Witnesses told sheriff’s deputies that Fields and another person broke into their apartment before dawn, but no other suspect has been arrested.
Prior to the murder, Fields stayed briefly in the home of judicial candidate Ron Duebbert after serving a sentence for domestic battery.
Duebbert was elected a St. Clair County Circuit Judge, but Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson placed him on administrative duties pending Fields’ case.
An April 19 complaint by the Judicial Inquiry Board alleges Duebbert provided false and misleading information to police that contradicted his testimony regarding a phone he loaned to Fields.