A trial has been set in the case of the man accused in the death of a Paducah man discovered at an abandoned home in Possum Trot.
Judge Jamie Jameson on Thursday set trial to begin for Joseph L. Cunningham on March 19, 2018, in Marshall County Circuit Court. Cunningham, 38, of Paducah, stands accused of the March 25 shooting death of 47-year-old Gary J. Lambert. He faces charges in Marshall County of murder, first-degree robbery, tampering with physical evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Jameson set the date and preliminary hearings to accommodate the schedule of new counsel in the case; Jason Pfeil, directing attorney in Princeton for the Department for Public Advocacy, will step up as lead counsel for Cunningham’s defense. Cunningham was representated in court Thursday by public defender and co-counsel Andrea Moore.
Jameson advised attorneys to expedite some of the lengthier processes associated with a murder trial.
“Now, (on) discovery: I know we’ve got new counsel on the case, and he’s opening a new office in Princeton and all those things,” Jameson said. “Whatever we need to do in advance of trial, let’s please get on it now. So, obviously if there’s testing that hasn’t been done on behalf of the Commonwealth any way, form or fashion, if the defense plans on testing any of that evidence themselves or has other matters that may be time consuming, we don’t need to take, you know, three, four, six months to get started on that. I know everybody knows that, but it needs to be a priority. I don’t like these things taking any longer than that.”
Jameson set a Sept. 1 deadline for defense counsel to file any motions of suppression in the case, as well. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jacob Ford said the state had not received any such motions, but he expected that defense counsel would at some point.
“We’re not asking for a date on that at this point,” Ford said. “But I would kind of like to know that we aren’t going into 2018 without that addressed. … I don’t want to go into January and February date with that kind of hearing.”
Moore said she and Pfeil had not yet met to discuss the matter, but felt confident suppression – should counsel choose to pursue that course – could reasonably be handled by then. Moore declined to comment to what evidence potential suppression motions would relate.
Jameson also denied Moore’s request to instate bond on Cunningham’s behalf on the seriousness of charges and grounds that Cunningham had charges pending elsewhere and could easily “get lost in the system.”
According to previous Marshall County Sheriff’s Department reports, Lambert was found dead outside an abandoned home on Dalton Lane in Possum Trot. An autopsy report concluded that Lambert died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Previous reports indicate Cunningham and Lambert were negotiating the sale of allegedly stolen firearms when the shooting took place. Cunningham was later pulled over in Jefferson County, Ill., allegedly driving the victim’s vehicle with his girlfriend, Kristy Keener, 40, of Paducah. The two were taken into custody by Illinois authorities.
Cunningham allegedly confessed to Illinois authorities that he shot Lambert in self-defense while trying to sell him a gun.
He and Keener face additional charges in McCracken County and in Jefferson County, Ill.