A Floyd County judge has denied a defense motion that called for her to recuse herself from the Theron Plummer death penalty case but reserved ruling on a request for a change of venue until a later date.

Defense attorneys earlier filed a motion calling for Floyd County Superior Court Judge Tami Colston to recuse herself from the case, although the motion did not cite any specific reason, only stating it is not necessary that there be shown “any actual impropriety on the part of the trial court judge.”

Judge Colston cited a Georgia Superior Court rule that states that a motion for recusal should “clearly state the facts and reasons” for a belief of bias or prejudice.

“There are no facts of circumstances in defendant’s motion to recuse; there is no accompanying affidavit, and the motion is legally insufficient as a matter of law,” the order stated.

The judge further refused a defense request to have the matter reviewed by the Georgia Supreme Court, citing the lack of any evidence of impropriety, stating it “would only serve to delay the proceedings unnecessarily.”

Plummer is accused of shooting and killing Kimberly Ware at her Woodland Street home in front of their two children on May 25, 2008.

He fled and was eventually arrested in Anniston, Ala., three days later and returned to Floyd County where he remains in jail without bail.

The defendant also requested a change of venue, stating that the case has received “extensive publicity through the newspapers, broadcast media and other forms of communication operating within this county” to the degree that an impartial jury could not be picked from within Floyd County.

Judge Colston disagreed with the defense’s assessment of media coverage but reserved ruling on the matter until the time of jury selection.

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday to resolve any pre-trial issues, and the case is tentatively scheduled to be tried in October.

Rome News Tribune