Leon Grimes, the man facing a murder charge in the 2021 fatal shooting of Calvin Buckner, will head to trial as planned on Monday following a brief hearing Thursday morning.
The evidentiary hearing had been to allow for the questioning of witnesses in relation to a gun that had been found on or near the victim, and two bullet magazines, where a witness contends they may have seen Grimes place something on the victim’s body. But Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Bolen said at the hearing that she was concerned about her witness having a change of heart to testifying at the actual trial or becoming fearful of their safety, so she would not be calling any witnesses.
The Commonwealth had requested trial be delayed allow for lab testing to be completed on the gun and magazines, to see if Grimes had handled any of the items. The defense had argued that the gun in question was found in a holster in the victim’s waistband and has been at the lab since December of 2021.
Judge Andrew Self gave a timeline of the events in the case, saying this has been set to go to trial three times now, and at the last two continuances, neither Bolen nor her predecessor mentioned anything about the gun or the need for testing on it.
He says that even if there was testing done, as of this time, no DNA samples have been obtained from Grimes to compare to.
Judge Self denied the motion to continue the trial, so it will proceed as planned this coming Monday.
The trial is expected to last approximately one week.
Grimes is alleged to have shot Calvin Buckner in the chest at a party on Hazel Street in July of 2021.