The Granite City man accused of killing Knox County Sheriff’s Office Deputy, Deputy Nick Weist, testified on his own behalf in court today for the Motion to Engage in an Expert Witness at the State’s expense. Judge Kauzlarich will determine if the Defense proved that Daylon Richardson is indigent and will be provided an expert witness. Indigent defendant’s have a right to expert assistance, such as an accident reconstructionist, as part of the due process guarantee to fundamental fairness. Defense Attorney Bruce Carmen filed two motions and one memorandum to be heard by Judge Kauzlarich on Wednesday, only the Motion to Engage Witness will be discussed. If a defendant is appointed a Public Defender, they already meet the indigency requirement. Defendants are entitled to effective counsel and other “necessary expenses of representation”, such as an expert witness. Mr. Carmen indicated he intended to hire a reconstruction engineer for the accident reconstruction. A Reconstruction Engineer has additional education and training as compared to an accident reconstructionist. While a defendant is entitled to an expert witness, they are not necessarily entitled to choose the individual expert. Judge Kauzlarich said she believes the Supreme Court has a ruling on how much money can be provided to an indigent defendant for an expert witness.
Mr. Carmen was retained by Daylon’s mother and father. Mr. Carmen testified that he reduced his rates dramatically to what Daylon’s parents could afford. Daylon’s parents contacted Mr. Carmen to represent Daylon at the end of 2022, while he was represented by the Public Defender’s Office. Richardson testified that he was receiving SNAP benefits prior to his incarceration on April 29, 2022, and that he had not been working prior to that date. Mr. Richardson has previously testified that he wasn’t working and that family and friends were helping him with living expenses. Mr. Carmen said it could take a couple weeks to to retain an expert. Judge Kauzlarich said she will take the request under consideration and file her opinion next week. A Jury Pre-Trial is scheduled for June 29, 2023, at 2 PM. Defense Attorney Bruce Carmen told RegionalDailyNews that “we have the legal issues where they should be now”.
Find detailed information regarded the Right to an Expert here. Mr. Carmen said the Motion to Dismiss Count II (Murder/Strong Probability to Kill/Injure) is withdrawn but will be reinstated if necessary. The Memorandum regarding Sentencing Issues would not be discussed today either.
Richardson is charged with two (2) counts of Murder (Class M Felony), Possessions of a firearm by a felon (Class 2 Felony) and Aggravated Fleeing to Elude (Class 4 Felony). Daylon Richardson is accused of killing Deputy Nicholas “Nick” Weist after the vehicle he was driving crashed after hitting stop sticks in Henry County. The Galesburg Police responded to a call of a male subject with a gun at the Circle K gas station around 8 AM on April 29, 2022. Galesburg police attempted a traffic stop on the green Ford Taurus but the subject fled at a high rate of speed north on Henderson. Around Knox County Road 2700, the driver of the vehicle shot three times at the pursuing officers. Deputy Weist, from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, was preparing stop strips on Highway 150 just inside Henry County. The fleeing vehicle hit Deputy Weist as it crashed into the ditch.
