— The September 27 trial date of Demandre Black has been vacated and new court dates in the case will be set later this month.
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Black, 18, of Swansea, is one of four men accused of shooting cab driver Charles Ellis on May 31. Ellis, 75, was found dead by another cab driver at about 1:25 a.m., the victim of a small caliber gunshot wound to the back, at the corner of Sixth and Bell streets.
Black is one of our men accused in the shooting death of Ellis, with each facing three counts of first-degree murder. Other defendants include Damondros Q. James, 18, of Mt. Vernon; Christopher A. Wells, 16, of Mt. Vernon; and Mark Anthony Taylor Jr., 18, of Mt. Vernon. Wells is being charged as an adult.
Black’s attorney, Scott Quinn, said during a pretrial conference in August that Black’s family was trying to raise funds to hire a private attorney in the case and he hoped to know more about the status by Thursday’s conference. However, Quinn said the family has not decided to hire another attorney at this time.
Both the defense and prosecution agreed to vacate the trial and a pretrial conference on Sept. 12. Quinn filed a motion in the case for the court to approve a private investigator for the prosecution. A hearing on the motion was set for Sept. 19, and attorneys indicated further court dates in the case would be set after the motion hearing.
Black, as well as the other defendants in the case, are all being held in custody on $3 million bond.
