CHARLESTON, W.Va – The six-year-old case of a man accused of fatally striking a Charleston woman with his car as she walked her children to school remains on track to go to trial this summer.
Che Lark appeared before Kanawha County Circuit Judge Carrie Webster on Wednesday for a pretrial conference as he waits to be tried for 12 charges related to the 2020 hit-and-run death of Heather Ross. He is accused of hitting Ross with his car as he evaded police under suspicion of drug possession.
Lark is currently serving a 20-year federal sentence after pleading guilty to charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. Police found quantities of drugs in his possession on the day Ross was killed.
Defense attorney Ken Starcher presented three motions to Judge Webster, including two separate motions to dismiss the case. One of those motions, arguing that Lark’s right to a speedy trial was violated by repeated delays, was denied.
The other two motions are held in abeyance pending a ruling from Judge Webster in the coming days. That includes the second motion to dismiss, which states the case should not move forward on double jeopardy grounds.
Starcher argued that because Lark pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the incident, he should not be tried on the state charges. Lark previously said that he pleaded guilty in the federal case because an attorney advised him the circuit court case would not move forward if he did so.
The remaining motion regards the limiting of evidence and is expected to be ruled on, along with the second motion to dismiss, upon the submission of supplemental written arguments from both parties. An additional pretrial hearing is scheduled for August 11.