Morgan County shooting trial delayed

MARTINSVILLE -- A judge has delayed the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting a Morgan County sheriff's deputy, at defense attorneys' request.\nTommy R. Pruitt had been scheduled to go to trial in February in the murder of Morgan County warrant deputy Daniel Starnes, but Dearborn County Circuit Court Judge Jim Humphrey rescheduled the trial for Oct. 6.\nPruitt's attorneys requested the delay because of pretrial media coverage, said Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega.\nAttorneys also filed a motion to suppress a statement taped by police, in which Pruitt allegedly confessed he shot Starnes during a traffic stop because he did not want stolen weapons in his vehicle to be discovered.\nPruitt's attorneys argued the statement was made while he was under the influence of painkillers administered at the hospital where he was being treated for wounds he suffered in a gun battle with Starnes.\nPruitt, 39, of Martinsville, is charged with murder in the June 14 shooting. Starnes, of Martinsville, was wounded five times in the shootout, and he died July 10 at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.\nMorgan County Prosecutor Steven Sonnega has requested the death penalty for Pruitt if he is convicted.\nHumphrey was named special judge in the case after Morgan County's four judges recused themselves because they knew the victim. Jurors in the case are to be selected from another county.