First Posted: 3/31/2015
WAPAKONETA — A man facing the death penalty in the June beating death of a Uniopolis man in his house was given up to $19,200 Tuesday to hire experts to help his case.
James Dinsmore, 28, was approved up to $13,500 to hire a forensic psychologist, $4,200 to hire a mitigation specialist and $1,500 to hire an investigator.
Dinsmore is charged with two counts of aggravated murder and one count each of aggravated burglary, kidnapping and intimidation of a witness.
He is charged in the June 9 death of Charles Hicks, 54, who was found dead in his upstairs apartment at 2 Main St. in Uniopolis. Court records suggest a possible motive for the slaying was to prevent Hicks from testifying as a witness in a criminal case.
During the hearing Tuesday, Assistant Auglaize County Prosecutor Andrew Augsburger said he gave Dinsmore’s attorneys 719 pages of evidence along with a DVD and CD.
Dinsmore also waived his right to a speedy trial until June 1, 2016. Judge Frederick Pepple of Auglaize County Common Pleas Court also ruled jail personnel and others connected to the state cannot initiate conversations with Dinsmore about the crime to try to elicit information to use in the prosecution.
Pepple did not rule on a motion for Dinsmore to appear in street clothes rather than jail garb during all proceedings. Dinsmore’s lead attorney, Greg Meyers, said any pictures the media may take, if the media cover any proceedings at all, may be published and viewed by potential jurors. Someone in shackles, handcuffs and jail garb may not look like an innocent person, he said.
Dinsmore has a case pending in Allen County where he is a charged with attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault. He is accused of stabbing his 27-year-old girlfriend Oct. 4.
On Monday, Aaron Dietrich, 26, of Wapakoneta, appeared at a pretrial. He also waived his right to a speedy trial. A third man, Joseph Furry, 30, of Van Wert, also is charged. In all three cases, prosecutors were seeking the death penalty.
