GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Newly filed paperwork that will be sent to the Court of Criminal Appeals in an effort to get Greg Kelley’s conviction overturned says his trial attorney had a conflict of interest which led her to exclude two other possible suspects.
The memorandum states, Patricia Cummings, represented another young man who lived at the McCarty home at the same time Kelley and Johnathan McCarty were living there. That individual, who KXAN is not naming since he hasn’t been charged in connection with this particular case, was represented by Cummings on a charge of indecency with a child prior to Kelley’s case.
According to the filing, the third possible suspect also bore a “facial resemblance” to Kelley, 22, as did McCarty, which Kelley’s attorneys have indicated is also an alternate suspect. “She could not protect her former client’s interests without abandoning Greg Kelley’s interests,” states Kelley’s attorneys in the filing.
The court documents indicate the third possible suspect was paroled on other felonies for which Cummings represented him. “His prison disciplinary records reflect his misconduct was almost exclusively sexual,” states the attorneys.
Kelley’s attorneys believe the third individual would have been an ideal candidate for a jury to consider as the “more likely assailant.” However, the attorneys say Cummings never suspected him or McCarty because of her conflict of interest.
Once the paperwork is filed on Friday, Judge Donna King is expected to make a decision on Monday to pass the findings on to the Court of Criminal Appeals who will make the final ruling on Kelley’s future.
Back in August, Judge King determined that Kelley’s conviction should be set aside because he was “denied due process by virtue of a deficient police investigation,” and he was also “denied the effective assistance of trial counsel.”
Kelley, who was originally convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison, was released on bond the same day King made her decision.
According to the judge’s filing, Detective Christopher Dailey with the Cedar Park Police Department was “reckless and uninformed” in how he obtained an arrest warrant for Kelley without investigating the case further.