It was a contentious hearing in Christian Circuit Court Tuesday morning, as double-murder suspect Bobby Spikes appeared in front of Judge John Atkins.
While the main motion on the floor had to deal with geo-fencing and location information from Google in regards to the location of Spikes during the time the murders reportedly occurred, along with location data regarding the cellphones of the victims, the main point of argument for Spikes was regarding his public defender.
Spikes is represented by public defender Eric Bearden, and all throughout Tuesday’s hearing, he contended that Bearden was not his attorney, that he did not accept his representation and that he had fired Bearden.
Due to Bearden being a public defender, however, he is court appointed—not hired. Judge Atkins told Spikes that until such time that another public defender steps into that role, he and Bearden will have to work together.
Spikes also contends that money that had been seized in the case should have been released to his family, as it had no evidentiary value. The Commonwealth now disagrees, as when special prosecutor Blake Chambers took over the case, he indicted Spikes on an additional robbery charge, making the money evidence. A question remains on the exact amount of that money, with Chambers saying he will investigate further.
On the matter of Google locations, Chambers informed the court that he doesn’t believe they will need to hear testimony directly from a Google representative, as their reports should be sufficient.
Another pretrial hearing is set for October 14, and Bearden expressed he intends to file additional motions in the case, and hopes to hear back about another public defender by that time.
A superseding indictment against Spikes charges him with two counts of murder, for the deaths of Stanley Bussell and Candace Marcel, who was found deceased in a vehicle in Trigg County, which lead to the search and ultimately discovery of Bussell on Clearman Court in 2021. He’s also indicted for two counts of robbery in the first degree, kidnapping, tampering with physical evidence and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.