Less than two weeks after Ryan Duke was sentenced to 10 years in prison for concealing a death in Irwin County, a new indictment has been filed in Ben Hill County.
Duke's attorneys are now stepping in to try and get these charges dismissed.
"The state could have chosen to indict Ryan in Ben Hill County at the same time they indicted Bo. They chose not to,” stated Ashleigh Merchant, Duke's defense attorney.
The state of Georgia is now charging duke with:
- concealing the death of another,
- hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal,
- concealment of facts (2 counts)
- tampering with evidence (2 counts)
Defense Attorney Ashleigh Merchant says she was shocked when she first learned about the indictment filed.
She recalls a moment during Duke's testimony where the state presented to the jury that Duke was barred from charges in Ben Hill County.
"So the law says that you can’t be prosecuted after a certain period of time. So it’s four years for this crime. Everyone was in agreement that it was past the statue of limitations. The jury heard that, they relied on that. We heard that. The judge heard that,” said Merchant.
Merchant and her team will be using this statue of limitations to request an evidentiary hearing, where a judge could find that these charges should be dismissed.
FOX 31 did reach out to the state attorney working with this case to see if we could get some insight from their side. We have yet to receive a response.
But Merchant has her own ideas about how the state is filing this indictment, despite the four-year limit being reached.
"They are trying to rely on an exception. But the problem is the exception they stated in the indictment is that the crime was unknown," said Merchant confidently.
She says that is not the case.
"We definitely submitted all of the documentation from the states' own file that show that this crime was clearly known,” said Merchant.
Merchant also believes jurisdiction plays a role in the states decision to re-indict.
The state presented in the indictment that Duke’s role in concealing the death of Tara Grinstead happened as a continuous crime between both counties.
“That is one interpretation of the law. That concealing a death could be a continuous crime," said Merchant, "It could definitely happen but then the question would be 'can Ryan actually be sentenced in Ben Hill County for a crime he’s already been sentenced for in Irwin county.'”
Those questions cannot be answered until a Ben Hill County judge decides.
If the defense’s ‘plea in bar’ is accepted by the courts, both sides will have the opportunity to stand before a judge and argue if Duke will be tried.
If that plea is denied by a judge, Duke will stand trial in Ben Hill County with a special grand jury determining his fate— yet again.