A preliminary hearing in the case of a Dolores man charged with child abuse causing death was postponed Wednesday after an apparent failure to disclose information on behalf of the District Attorneys office.
The preliminary hearing for 18-year-old Dylan Kuhn was initially scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Representing Kuhn, attorney John Moran said he received 78 pages of evidence that day, which he did not have time to review before the hearing. He said the evidence could be exculpatory, or indicative of Kuhns innocence.
District Attorney Russell Wasley argued those particular documents were not requested by the defense until 7:30 p.m. the prior evening. Further, Wasley said the documents are from a four-year-old case pertaining to a potential witness, and are not directly connected to Kuhns case.
When questioned by the judge, Wasley admitted he did not have time himself to review the documents, and could not say for sure if it is exculpatory.
You cannot come here on the day of the preliminary hearing and tell me you dont know if the evidence is exculpatory or not, Montezuma County Judge JenniLynn Lawrence said, declaring it a discovery violation.
The DAs office has been hit with multiple discovery violations during the Wasley administration and defense attorneys have frequently said they do not receive evidence from the office in time for proceedings.
Moran argued that due to ongoing incidents, the case should be dismissed.
We should be able to rely on the district attorney doing his job, Moran said.
Wasley argued the defense has known about the documents since November and maintained there was no discovery violation.
Wasley said Friday he could not discuss the case or discovery issues because of a pending gag order on the case.
Lawrence did not dismiss the case, but postponed it until April.
According to court documents, police said Kuhn admitted to slamming his infant daughter down on a bed in the early hours of Nov. 1.
The alleged admission came after a medical doctor ruled the death appeared to be caused by the infant being slammed against a soft, but unyielding surface.
According to Montezuma County Sheriffs Office reports, Kuhn had initially told investigators he was sleeping in bed with his infant daughter and awoke to find the infant hanging over the side of the bed with a blanket wrapped around her neck. He said she was not breathing so he attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called 911.
The infant was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Kuhn told police that he had an expired medical marijuana card for headaches and had smoked marijuana the night before. A field urine test performed on the man allegedly tested positive for marijuana. The defendant remains out of custody.
Reach Reid Wright at [email protected]
