Jonathan Conyers
Jonathan Conyers is representing himself in his upcoming trial set for Feb. 8 for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a firearm in a shooting on the Southside on Aug. 30, 2018.
Conyers filed a motion for dismissal due to the lack of a speedy trial since he has been in custody since the incident.
The state said he has had three previous attorneys that withdrew.
Conyers and the state said all three attorneys withdrew on their own; however, his counsel is attorney Dan Ripper. Judge Don Poole said he recommends Conyers makes attorney Ripper his attorney.
Conyers had two previous court dates that were rescheduled due to the attorney changes. The state said a third court date was rescheduled due to COVID.
There was discussion between the judge and Conyers about his speedy trial motion. Judge Poole said he would consider the motion and that it might be overruled.
“I’m not going to treat you any differently than I would if you were a lawyer,” he said regarding Conyers representing himself.
Conyers, who was 23 at the time of the shooting, has a pretrial conference set for Jan. 4 to see if he is prepared for his trial in February.
He is charged in a shooting that left Demontez Russell in critical condition.
An officer was nearby when gunshots rang out in the area of E. 19th Street and Read Avenue. The officer found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder.
An investigator went to the hospital to interview the victim, but he was undergoing a CT scan and was considered to be in critical condition.
Several witnesses at the scene described the shooter as a slim black male wearing a white shirt and dark pants. They said the shooter approached the victim while he was standing by a vehicle on E. 19th Street. He then opened fire on him.
Several employees of a nearby business were on break at the time and were near the shooting location. Two other witnesses were located, who police said identified Conyers as the shooter.
Police said, "Both parties' description of events corroborated various other pieces of information known to investigators."