The murder trial for Wayne “Honky” Harris will be moved to Lafayette County. The change of venue was agreed to during a brief hearing Wednesday morning in Pittsboro.
The trial has been scheduled for May 19 in Oxford with Judge L. Breland Hilburn of Hinds County presiding.
Wayne Harris
Harris’ defense team, led by T.R. Trout of Oxford, and District Attorney Ben Creekmore and Asst. D.A. Lon Stallings convened in Pittsboro Wednesday for a hearing intended to determine if the case warranted a change of venue.
Harris’ defense team had argued that he may not be able to receive a fair trial in Calhoun County due to the publicity of the case in which Harris shot and killed Chris McGonagill of Calhoun City in a shootout on McGonagill’s property in January of 2013.
Harris was in the courtroom Thursday, but no witnesses were called as both the defense and prosecutors agreed to the date in Oxford during a private meeting in chambers.
In addition to the depraved heart murder charge, Harris is also facing one count of touching a child for lustful purposes and four counts of sexual battery from a separate investigation.
All of the charges carry a potential sentence of minimum 20 years to life, except for touching a child for lustful purposes, which calls for a minimum of two years with a maximum of 15 years.