Two days after a federal judge rejected a plea deal between prosecutors and a man who allegedly sold heroin, the defendant withdrew his guilty plea.
U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin had rejected on Monday a plea deal between Charles York Walker Jr. and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of West Virginia had returned an indictment against Walker Jr., of Charleston, on Sept. 13, 2016. Walker was charged with three counts of distributing heroin, two counts of distributing fentanyl and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prosecutors said he committed the crimes between April 14 and July 14 last year, according to Goodwin's order. In January of this year, Walker, 38, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin on July 14, 2016. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges against him.
Goodwin had noted Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure "obligates judges to accept or reject" plea agreements but "is silent on what the court should or may consider in its decision." The judge cited the severity of the region's drug problem, the high number of cases resolved through plea deals and the defendant's criminal history.
He had also said he planned to set a new trial date.
Wednesday afternoon, Lex Coleman, of the federal public defender's office, told the judge that Walker would withdraw his guilty plea.
The judge set a new trial date for 9 a.m. Sept. 6.
Clint Carte, of the U.S. attorney's office, said prosecutors would file to dismiss the information. "Information" refers to the formal declaration of the charge against Walker. Indictments, in contrast, are charges issued by grand juries.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.