Judge denies request to move Andre Hill police killing trial

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Extensive publicity over last year’s fatal shooting of Andre Hill by a Columbus police officer won’t prevent the now-fired officer from receiving a fair trial in central Ohio, a judge ruled Wednesday in denying a request to move the trial.

Hill, 47, who was Black, was fatally shot by ex-officer Adam Coy, who is white, on Dec. 22 as Hill emerged from a garage holding up a cellphone.

Defense attorney Mark Collins argued in a June court filing that extensive local and national publicity about the killing — including news coverage, posts on social media and billboards around Columbus — will make it impossible to assemble an impartial jury for Coy in Franklin County.

Assistant Ohio Attorney General Anthony Pierson opposed the request, contending that there was no reason to believe that people elsewhere were less likely to have read about the case than were Franklin County residents.

Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh agreed, writing in his three-page ruling, “Therefore, where can the case be tried where some media scrutiny does not exist?”

Coy has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide charges. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 4.

In May, the city reached a $10 million settlement, the largest in Columbus history, with the family of Hill.