MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two of three suspects in the murder of a Memphis pastor appeared in court Wednesday morning.
Wearing a blue and white dress shirt and slacks, Miguel Andrade was in front of a judge for the first time since the death of Rev. Dr. Autura Eason-Williams in July. His case was moved from Juvenile Court to 201 Poplar.
It was a report day on the status of the case. The now 16-year-old stood before the judge for just one minute.
“That report would be that we have given discovery. They are in the process of reviewing that discovery as well as body cam and we are coming back in May to give an additional report,” said Assistant District Attorney General Forrest Edwards.
Andrade’s attorney Jason Ballenger said his client is being watched closely while out on bail.
“He is out on bond with an ankle monitor. He’s got very tight restrictions. He is basically going to school and coming home,” said Ballenger.
Co-defendant Eduard Rodriguez-Tabora was also due in court. However, there was some confusion on who he would use as an interpreter, so instead his case was continued to May 24.
“They lost a loved one. It’s a traumatic event. No one wants to be in this process. We are doing our best to expedite these proceedings to make sure that we can get closure for that family,” Edwards said.
Tabora’s attorney Robert Amann said his client has been sitting in jail for months and is also ready to move the case forward, but he acknowledges it will take some time because there is a lot of evidence to go through.
“They gave us some evidence, around 459 pages worth of evidence, which is going to take a little while to go through, so we are going through it right now. And once we go through it we are going to show it to our client and we are going to go through it together and see what all the story has to say,” said Amann.
Both suspects are due back in court on May 24.
