For the second time, a hearing for a homeless man accused of fatally shooting another homeless man was delayed due to issues with his legal representation.
Pedro Morales-Valle, 42, appeared in Magistrate Court Friday, July 1. He was charged in May with malice murder in the death of Billie Lee Davis, 37, near the Gainesville homeless camp on Aviation Boulevard and Queen City Parkway.
Magistrate Court Judge Brian Heck said the attorney appointed to him was not given notice of Friday’s hearing and had a conflict that likely would have prevented him from being there anyway.
“As we sit this morning, I do not have an attorney here to represent you,” Heck said.
As Morales-Valle has been in jail for more than a month, Heck gave the man the options to continue the hearing to a future date or move the case on to Superior Court.
Morales-Valle was assisted by a Spanish interpreter.
“If the attorney appointed to represent you wishes to have a preliminary hearing, they can request that through the Superior Court, and it can be returned to Magistrate Court for that hearing,” Heck said.
Morales-Valle said he would like to wait for an attorney and have the hearing at a later date.
A new date was not set as of 1 p.m. Friday.