Continuance Granted in Lake Palestine Death Trial
Posted/updated on: October 19, 2019 at 5:58 pm
TYLER — A Tyler man accused of running over a 14-year-old boy on Lake Palestine received a continuance for his case. According to our news partner KETK, Jeffrey Hampton, 33, is charged with manslaughter and accidental boating death. He is accused of running his boat into a dock where Roberto Carlos Bermejo Hernandez was standing. In a hearing that lasted less than two minutes Friday, a defense attorney said that they needed more time to comb through the evidence and was not ready for a pre-trial hearing. Judge Christi Kennedy pushed back Hampton’s pre-trial hearing until January. His trial will be set in February.
The incident occurred on June 2 and according to officials at the scene, there were three other people on the boat with Hampton at the time of the accident. Investigators took blood for toxicology once Hampton was arrested. He has previous convictions for DWI and drug possession. Hampton has been in the Smith County Jail since his arrest with bond set at 1 million dollars.
