The case of Donald Jessamine has been delayed to accommodate another criminal trial with the same defense attorney.
The case of a fatal 2012 Delaware River boating accident may have to wait until until 2016 to be resolved.
The trial of Donald Jessamine had been scheduled to start in November, but it was announced in court Wednesday that its start would be delayed in favor of another criminal case with the same defense attorney.
Jessamine, of Phillipsburg, is accused of drunkenly piloting a boat into rocks in June 2012 on the Delaware River in Harmony Township, killing Lane Alden, 57.
Judge Robert Reed told defense attorney Michael Priarone of the schedule change Wednesday, saying it was to accommodate another criminal trial that Priarone is defending.
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Reed, who is soon to be transferred out of Warren County, said his successor chose to postpone Jessamine's case because he is not incarcerated, unlike the other defendant.
The routine judge reassignments will put Judge H. Matthew Curry, a former Lopatcong Township councilman, in charge of the criminal cases at New Jersey Superior Court in Belvidere. Reed is staying in Warren County until the conclusion of the ongoing Andy Torres trial on murder charges from a 2012 Phillipsburg robbery; Priarone is also defending that case.
In previous hearings, it was estimated Jessamine's trial will take one to two weeks. There was no indication Wednesday of a new start date, though it appears unlikely it will be before the end of the year.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.