Trial Scheduled in Washtenaw County
The two young men charged with the killing of Eastern Michigan University football player, Demarius Reed, are scheduled to stand trial in the Washtenaw County Trial Court in Ann Arbor.
Reed was found shot to death in the early morning hours of October 18th 2013, in the stairwell of an off campus apartment building in Ypsilanti. His wallet and cell phone were both missing, prompting the police to assume that the motive was robbery.
21-year-old Ed Thomas and 20-year-old Kristopher Pratt were both seen in the area on the night of the killing by multiple witnesses, some of whom overheard them discussing the murder. Additionally, the gun found by police in Pratt’s car matches the bullet fragments taken from Reed’s body.
But while the prosecution feels that the case is cut and dried, the two defendants seem to think that there may be some room to maneuver in this football player murder case. At the final pretrial hearing on July 1st, both were offered a final plea deal, and both men rejected it. It seems that the pair would rather allow a jury to decide their guilt in the robbing and fatal shooting of Reed.
Thomas is scheduled for trial on July 21st. While it is likely that Pratt will face trial at the same time with a different jury in a separate courtroom, he was granted an adjournment so that his defense attorney, Stephanie Carson, can prepare to argue a motion. His final pretrial hearing has been rescheduled for July 8th.
Pratt made his appearance during the the final pretrial hearing wearing a blue and orange Michigan Department of Corrections jumpsuit. According to police records, Pratt is serving a sentence of 7 – 20 years for a different robbery and shooting conviction after Reed’s murder. It was during that investigation that police discovered the gun that linked Pratt to Reed’s murder.
Thomas and Pratt are both charged with open murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. These are felonies and, if convicted, they will face life in prison.