FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): A felony battery case against a man who got in a fight with a Fort Wayne Police officer was thrown out yesterday… and it’s the Allen County Prosecutor’s fault.
That’s according to Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, who dismissed a felony battery charge against 55-year-old Eddie Billingsley due to “gross negligence” within the prosecutor’s office.
The Journal Gazette reports that public defender Michelle Kraus had been waiting for more than two months for dashcam video that would’ve shown Billingsley’s January arrest. She was allegedly told repeatedly there was no video, until she got a copy of it Monday morning.
Court documents show the prosecutor’s office has repeatedly either been late or simply failed to turn over evidence in some of Kraus’ other cases.
Prosecutor Karen Richards blamed her office’s computer systems, saying technology has made it “more difficult” to keep track of things.