State seeks to relocate David Prevatte retrial out of Pender County

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY-TV) — On Monday, state prosecutors filed a motion seeking to relocate a retrial in the David Prevatte murder case out of Pender County after a judge declared a mistrial following juror misconduct last week.

In the motion, prosecutors cited juror misconduct came as jurors received “information in their deliberation that was not presented at trial.”

Prosecutors also noted “extensive news coverage every day in the local media markets” and the trial being broadcasted live on CourtTV. The motion also cited several seated Pender County jurors from the trial were outspoken to local media and social networking sites.

“To ensure both the Defendant and the State receive fair trial in the retrial of this case, the State is moving to change venue to another county,” the motion said.

One of the jurors cited in the state’s motion was Juror 3, who was dismissed from the trial after other jurors alleged she knew information about the case that had not been presented in court.

Following her dismissal, the juror spoke with WWAY’s Bryan Alonso about tensions during jury deliberations.

“I was one of two who felt very strongly in one way, and everybody else was very adamant. There were comments made, and there were threats made to my children. Because I was just more vocal, I feel like they were all adamant about getting me out of there, and I think that was proven today,” she said.

Wilmington attorney Thom Goolsby said the extensive publicity surrounding the case could make selecting an impartial jury difficult.

“The real concern is whether or not the matter is so biased in the local area and so prejudiced that the defendant can’t get a fair trial and that’s the reason for a change of venue. I think moving it to another county in the area is probably going to be the solution that the court will settle upon. You can also ship in jurors from the same county, that’s also another possibility,” Goolsby said.

Goolsby expects the retrial could be moved to a county near the Cape Fear region. He also expressed sympathy for both prosecutors and defense attorneys, who now face preparing for a second trial.

An administrative hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 13th at 9:30 a.m. at Pender County Frances Basden Annex.

To read more of WWAY’s previous coverage on the trial, click here.