The man charged with reckless homicide in the death of a woman on Striped Bridge Road in August of 2018 was arraigned in Christian Circuit Court Wednesday.
Brandon Pickett, who is charged with reckless homicide and first-offense DUI, appeared along with defense attorney Bill Deatherage, who entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Pickett was originally charged with murder in the death of Trina Akin of Trigg County, but he was indicted recently for reckless homicide. Pickett and Akin had reportedly been drinking together in August 2018 at a residence on Striped Bridge Road when they got into a Jeep without doors to travel to Pickett’s home nearby.
Pickett was allegedly operating the vehicle when he navigated a curve and Akin was reportedly not wearing a seatbelt and fell out of the vehicle. She was pronounced deceased at Jennie Stuart Medical Center.
Deatherage requested Pickett’s ankle monitor be removed and Commonwealth’s Attorney Rick Boling asked that Pickett be required to take alcohol and drug tests.
Circuit Judge Andrew Self agreed to both remove the ankle monitor and instate the screenings, saying that seemed more than fair considering the charges.
A pretrial hearing in this case was set for July 24, which is also the final pretrial conference in a separate case Pickett is a co-defendant in that’s set for trial in August.