Jackson Jambalaya

A Madison County court dismissed a Petition to Perpetuate Rule 27 Testimony filed by Stuart Irby. Circuit Judge William Chapman, III threw out the lawsuit yesterday after defendants Lee Bounds and Vickie Currie argued the petition did not meet the standards of Rule 27 and that the petition was a fishing expedition for evidence to use in Mr. Irby's criminal proceedings.

Conservators for Stuart M. Irby, Sr. filed a Notice of Verified Petition for Rule 27 depositions to file testimony, on August 5 in Madison County Circuit Court. The petition stated Mr. Irby will file a suit for malicious prosecution against Lee Bounds and Madison Police Officer Vickie Currie, after the cyberstalking case against him is "terminated". The petition states the indictment against him is still pending. Earlier post with copy of petition.

The petition states Mr. Bounds is the first husband of Karen Irby. It claims Mr. Irby took "Mr. Bounds and his entire family to lunch one Sunday to celebrate the birthday" of one of his daughters (Karen and Lee's child). "Mr. Irby took several photographs of the family. Later, Mr. Irby sent Mr. Bounds photographs of Mr. Bounds' seventeen year old daughter, which he had photo-shopped by putting pictures" her face "onto the body of an adult female wearing a swimsuit."

The petition refers to the email as a "sophomoric prank" and states it was "emailed to Mr. Bounds, not to his daughter". The petition then states Mr. Bounds "emailed Mr. Irby asking if he could use Mr. Irby's condominium in Destin, Florida during his daughter's Spring Break."

Everyone is pretty much familiar with that happened after these contacts. Cyberstalking charges were filed against Mr. Irby. Further contact with Mr. Bounds and a DUI arrest led to the placement of Mr. Irby on house arrest. Mr. Irby pleaded guilty to the DUI charge and served 48 hours in jail (How many first-time offenders serve two days in jail?) . A Madison County Grand Jury indicted Mr. Irby for the cyberstalking charges. The case is scheduled to go to trial in November.

Officer Currie argued in her response the petition assumed Mr. Irby would be found not guilty. Her lawyer argued Rule 27 indeed allows a party to obtain testimony before a suit is filed BUT the rule also states "if the court is satisfied that the perpetuation of the testimony may prevent a failure or delay of justice." Thus the burden for Mr. Irby to meet, and the Court agreed with this argument, is whether obtaining the testimony may prevent a failure or delay of justice. Both Ms. Currie and Mr. Bounds argued there was no evidence they would not be available at a later date for testimony or there testimony would be "lost prior to petitioners filing a yet to accrue malicious prosecution action." Ms. Currie further accused the estate of seeking "pre-suit discovery." Mr. Bounds made similar arguments in his motion to dismiss. Ms. Currie then posited the petition was a "disguised attempt to gather evidence for use in Mr. Irby's criminal proceeding."

The judge agreed with Ms. Currie and dismissed the suit. The dismissal does not bar Mr. Irby or his estate from filing a complaint for malicious prosecution at a later date.

Conservators for Stuart M. Irby, Sr. filed a Notice of Verified Petition for Rule 27 depositions to file testimony, Friday in Madison County Circuit Court. The petition states Mr. Irby will file a suit for malicious prosecution against Lee Bounds and Madison Police Officer Vickie Currie, after the cyberstalking case against him is "terminated". The petition states the indictment against him is still pending.

The petition states Mr. Bounds is the first husband of Karen Irby. It claims Mr. Irby took "Mr. Bounds and his entire family to lunch one Sunday to celebrate the birthday" of one of his daughters (Karen and Lee's child). "Mr. Irby took several photographs of the family. Later, Mr. Irby sent Mr. Bounds photographs of Mr. Bounds' seventeen year old daughter, which he had photo-shopped by putting pictures" her face "onto the body of an adult female wearing a swimsuit."

The petition refers to the email as a "sophomoric prank" and states it was "emailed to Mr. Bounds, not to his daughter". The petition then states Mr. Bounds "emailed Mr. Irby asking if he could use Mr. Irby's condominium in Destin, Florida during his daughter's Spring Break."

Here is where it gets real interesting and I predict a suit will be filed against the Madison Police Department at some point. The petition states the mother of the daughter is a Madison Police investigator. Uh-oh. Everyone get that? Question that must be asked is why Madison did not turn the case over to MCSO or MBI. Expect Mr. Irby's lawyers to hit this point when they file suit. It is also stated Ms. Currie is also a Madison County Investigator and has a "close professional and personal relationship" with Mr. Bounds' ex-wife.

It is further argued Madison has no jurisdiction, as the alleged violation never took place in Madison. The petition alleges Mr. Bounds claims he was eating lunch at Wendy's in Madison when he opened the email. However, the suit claims Mr. Bounds ate lunch that day in Jackson and thus "provided false information under oath".

Hmmm....... remember my post last week? I seem to remember writing this:

"That was the news portion, now for the informed commentary part of this post. Lee Bounds is the ex-husband of Karen Irby. These two men know each other- well. In fact, Mr. Bounds sued Mr. Irby for alienation of affection in 2004. The case settled in 2005. There is a history of animosity between these two men. Several sources have informed JJ what took place was the Irby family went to the King Edward hotel for Sunday brunch. Mr. Bounds was invited to bring his family, which he did. Mr. Irby took pictures and Mr. Bounds daughter was one of those photographed. Apparently Mr. Irby learned how to photoshop a few months ago and thinks its pretty funny to photoshop his friends' faces on other bodies like the Hulk, swimsuit models, and the like. He took the daughter's face (who is seventeen) and photoshopped it on some swimsuit models and emailed the pictures to Mr. Bounds supposedly as a joke. Unfortunately for Mr. Irby, the girl's mother is a Madison (city) police officer.

However, several questions must be asked about this prosecution. Why was the Madison Police investigating this incident as it involved one of their own police officers? Standard procedure would have been for the Madison PD to hand the case off to another law enforcement agency such as the Madison County Sheriff's Office. JJ obtained a copy of the police report several months ago but did not publish it because there are serious doubts about is veracity. The police report repeatedly claims Mr. Irby cyberstalked the minor. JJ had already done some digging on the case and learned the facts posted above. The report was not posted as I had a serious question as to whether it was slanderous as cyberstalking a minor is considered much worse than sending a tasteless or crude email to a grown man and I did not want to publish a police report containing false statements. The indictment was more accurate than the original complaint, police report, and media coverage were as it stated Mr. Irby contacted Mr. Bounds, not his daughter. Big difference. Big, huge difference."

Most of the media coverage at the time stated Mr. Irby cyberstalked a minor, not Mr. Bounds. It remains to be seen whether the local media will correct their coverage. Earlier post including screen shots of media coverage.

A Madison County Grand Jury indicted Stuart M. Irby, Sr. on July 7, 2011 for cyberstalking Lee Bounds.

The Irby saga grew yet another set of pink ears and kept banging on the drum as William Bell filed a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel with the Mississippi Supreme Court on July 8. Can't scan it right now but I'll type out what it says:

"Comes now William C. Bell, attorney of record for Karen Irby in the above-styled case, and pursuant to Rule 1.16 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, moves the court to enter an order allowing William C. Bell to withdraw as the attorney for Karen Irby and in support of the motion would show to the court the following:
1. Professional considerations require termination of my representation of Karen Irby in the above-style case.
2. Karen Irby has discharged me as her attorney, and I am therefore not in a position to take any action in this case other than to withdraw.

Wherefore, premises considered, William C. Bell respectfully requests that the court enter an order allowing William C. Bell to withdraw as the attorney of record for Karen Irby in the above-styled case."

Earlier post

Copy of Motion and exhibits

William Bell, the attorney for Karen Irby, filed a motion to withdraw guilty plea in Hinds County Circuit Court today. Mrs. Irby alleges several facts that should be considered by the court:

1. She did not have a "written attorney-client contract with Joe Holloman" or the other attorneys.
2. "Joe Holloman had numerous phone conferences with Stuart Irby's attorneys."
3. "Karen Irby was never asked to participate and did not participate in any of the telephone conferences that took place between Joe Holloman and Stuart Irby's attorneys."
4. She only learned about the conferences from billing statements or Stuart Irby.
5. Mrs. Irby told Mr. Holloman about the alleged assault but he never informed her it could be used as a defense (KF note: weak. He may not have told her but I'm sure something like that did cross her mind.).
6. Mr. Holloman yelled at Mrs. Irby when she attempted to tell him about the assault and on a later date said he did not want her to discuss it any further.
7. Exhibit attached is a billing statement sent from Holloman to Stuart and Karen Irby.
8. Mr. Holloman rarely discussed Mrs. Irby's case with her but instead told her to call private investigator Charlie Saums. Incidentally, there is no attorney-client privelige between Mr. Saums and Mrs. Irby as several attorneys have informed me.
9. Mr. Holloman provided few, if any documents concerning her case. (KF note: Sources informed me for months that Mrs. Irby had to come to this site to learn about her case and read the documents filed as they were not provided to her.).
10. Mr. Holloman (allegedly) had a conflict of interest.
11. The docket shows Mr. Holloman never filed any formal requests for pre-trial discovery (This site did publish several subpoenas however that were filed by Mr. Holloman).
12. Joe Holloman's budget estimate was over a half million dollars. See exhibit in motion. Good grub if you can get it. Now you see why I posted that little story about Holloman trying to reverse a guilty plea in federal court for $35,000 (actually a habeaus corpus motion) and keeping the money?

Page 22 of the documents posted above are Holloman's billing records. Phelps Dunbar, Watkins Ludlam, you guys need to take some notes because Holloman gives a clinic in how to bill a rich client. This guy is so good he could give even Rudy Warnock or Carl Ray Furr lessons in billing although Mr. Holloman has not quite reached a Waggonarian level as Mr. Waggoner still has Siegfried's gold. Some tidbits:

1. $25,000 for public relations. Twenty-five frickin' grand for PR? They could've paid me half of that amount and gotten a hundred times better job than what the .6 million dollar man provided. We can rebuild Joe Holloman. We can make him greedier, hungrier, but unfortunately not leaner than he was before.
2. $20,000 for "executive support"? "Witness handling"?
3. "War room" office facility: $7,350. Um, doesn't Mr. Holloman have an office ONE BLOCK FROM THE COURT? What was he going to do? Rent out the convention center or the King Edward?
4. $60,000 for mock trial. Another $60,000 for "focus group discussion." I bet Linda Harmon is VERY sorry she moved to Tennessee when she sees this amount.
5. Bill (Projected): $632,224.

For half a million bucks she got to plead guilty and get 18 years. She would've been better off just pleading guilty right off the bat and sticking the half mill in a mutual fund or something. All sarcasm aside, this motion puts a little more meat on the conflict of interest bones although its going to be tough for this motion to succeed in my opinion. Mrs. Irby also filed an affidavit. The docket begins on page 27.

Stay tuned.

Judge Green's recitation of a poem she composed to represent what she thought were the views of Dr.'s Mark Pogue and Lisa Dedousis are the subject of two motions filed yesterday by Karen Irby. Mrs. Irby is now represented by local attorney William Bell.

Mr. Bell filed a Motion for re-sentencing. He made the following arguments in his motion:
1. Judge Green used a poem she "personally drafted".
2. The poem is "in effect a victim's statement".
3. The poem "contains comments and statements a judge is not permitted to produce, use, and/or consider in sentencing a defendant."
4. Judge Green wrote her poem on behalf of the deceased and thus "wrongly interjected herself into the sentencing. The poem showed a "severe bias" against Karen Irby.

The motion also claims Judge Green's stating "Mississippi was a zero tolerance state" was simply not true and showed extreme prejudice against the defendant. The motion also states at the end that Mrs. Irby's counsel was ineffective. Copy of motion for resentencing.

The poem again figures prominently in the Motion for Recusal. Bell again called the poem a victim's statement and argued the judge is barred by law from making such a statement. He called it "testimony" and claimed judges are "prohibited from providing evidence and testimony in a cause of action, including a sentencing hearing." The Jackson attorney went further and stated Judge Green was not supposed to be an "advocate for the victims" but was to be "impartial". He also points out the Court completely ignored the wishes of the victims families and such actions are further proof of the Judge's bias. Copy of Motion to Recuse

Todd Burwell is now representing Karen Irby in the civil suit filed against her by the families of Mark Pogue and Lisa Dedousis. Mr. Burwell filed a notice of appearance with the court on February 22, 2010. Mr. Burwell is known for his current representation of Robbie Bell in other cases.

John Booth Farese, the attorney for the deceased, filed a response on February 26, 2010 to a motion Stuart Irby filed to quash his notice of deposition. The response is very interesting and quotes at length from the depositions taken by Zoraya Parrilla, M.D. and Clea Evans, PhD. earlier this year. Both doctors treated Mr. Irby in their respective capacities at Methodist Rehab Center in Jackson. All I will say is pages 11-12 are very interesting. Copy of response

JJ obtained a copy of a letter sent from Mercedes to JPD concerning the installation of an "event data recorder" in the ill-fated Mercedes sedan driven by Karen Irby. Mercedes attorney Frank Berenz sent a letter on February 24, 2009 to Sgt. Joe Cotton of JPD. Mr. Berenz states:

"the subject Mercedes-Benz vehicle is not equipped an Even Data Recorder or "Black-Box" that would be of assistance to the JPD in reconstructing the accident. Unlike certain other manufacturer's vehicles, the subject Mercedes-Benz does not record the speed of the vehicle at or about the time of impact nor does it store information regarding braking input at the time of impact..."

Copy of letter

** MUST CREDIT JACKSON JAMBALAYA**

JJ has obtained a copy of the toxicology report for Karen Irby produced by the Mississippi Crime Lab. It does indeed state the sample provided has a BAC of .09. It also states her system tested negative for all drugs except morphine, which was given to her at the hospital. It must be pointed out she tested negative for cocaine. Many rumors flew around town about supposed cocaine use by Mrs. Irby. The reports show such was not the case and there were no other drugs in her system at the time of the wreck. It should also be pointed out the report is based on samples taken with expired labels on the vials.

Copy of report

WLBT is reporting Karen Irby filed charges against her husband. See link below for documents. Thanks to WLBT for providing a copy of the affidavit and warrant.

Copy of charges

Note: So the judge dismissed as there were no probable cause hearing? Gee, I think all of the people who were arrested based on simple affidavits would love to know about that little procedure.

My only comment because the media frenzy will start soon enough:

No one knew what to expect today in Judge Green's courtroom today as Karen Irby appeared for sentencing after she pled guilty to killing Lisa Dedousis and Daniel Mark Pogue on February 11, 2009. The courtroom was packed with family members and media while an overflow crowd waited outside the closed doors. A fragile Karen Irby clad in black sat in silence while Stuart Irby was conspicuously absent. Shades of Robbie Bell avoiding her son's sentencing came to my mind several times today.

Judge Green stated she received over 100 letters (I later learned only two were negative.). Judge Green was professional, at times gracious, and spoke softly throughout the hearing. John Booth Farese, the attorney for the families of the deceased, said the families had statements to make to the court. Dr. John Dedousis, brother of Lisa, showed his true worth as a man as he stepped up to the podium and delivered a statement few will ever forget as it was damning towards Stuart Irby and JPD yet compassionate towards Karen.

Dedousis first told the Court his parents were unable to attend because the ordeal had causes his father to have some recent heart problems. Lisa Dedousis "dedicated her life to serving others". He then recollected how Karen Irby met with the families the week before she pled guilty. She admitted her guilt to them, offered everything she had, and apologized for killing their loved ones. Gasps were heard as John Dedousis thundered forth with his next statement: "Stuart Irby is a violent person" and that "Karen Irby had been living in fear." He claimed Stuart and Karen had met with DHS that morning concerning possible child abuse committed against Karen's nine-year-old daughter by Stuart. JJ reported on this matter earlier this year and published police reports obtained through public records requests. DHS did meet with the Irbys on February 11. Sources have informed JJ Mr. Irby was very flippant to the interviewer and wasn't bothered at all by a child abuse investigation. Sources have also stated that the investigation did not progress any further.

Dedousis continued with more statements: "the investigation was not thorough or complete", "a fight ensued and Stuart assaulted Karen, grabbed her hair", "Stuart had two glasses of whiskey, then three more double shots of whiskey and some wine." He thanked the people of Hinds County and asked the District Attorney to bring charges against Stuart Irby.

Paul Steve Pogue, the brother of Daniel Mark, was more subdued and simply said "as a Christian family, we believe in forgiveness", "Karen was a victim of Stuart's continued abuse", and "asked for the minimum sentence." Farese then told Judge Green the families did indeed request she impose the minimum sentence.

Karen Irby addressed Judge Green as she made a final plea for mercy. Somehow, someway, she was able to tell the Court through her tears and the terror that was evident in her voice she "prayed for mercy", "the grief was indescribable", and that she begged for her children. The courtroom was deathly silent for over a minute as crying was heard from several in attendance. As I wrote a few weeks ago "While justice was served, there was no victory here, no reason to celebrate, just a numbing sense of tragedy about something that should never have happened. Two doctors who should be enjoying their marriage vows and helping others, a mother at home with two kids, a family legacy once well respected in Jackson, all destroyed."

Meanwhile, during the entire proceedings, Mac stood in the side door used by Judge Green with his arms folded with a stern face that at times glared. This was a Mac that didn't like to be questioned about anything regarding this case. A Mac that refused to go on camera today with WAPT and last month with WLBT about how the Irby case was handled and was rude to the reporters involved. A Mac that attacked this blogger in the Jackson Free Press for his coverage of the Irby case yet refused any questions from all media in town. A Mac that confronted the DA a few weeks ago over the Irby trial. A Mac so angry that day he screamed at the DA and threw books across the room as told by numerous sources who were present.

Judge Green then addressed Mrs. Irby. Judge Green took her duties very seriously as she reminded Mrs. Irby that for all of the letters received on her behalf, there were two doctors who were not able to write letters. Judge Green read a letter she had composed on their behalf. A letter she wrote thirty minutes before the hearing today. Some thought such actions by the Judge were nonsense but what this correspondent saw was a judge having empathy for the victims and reminding everyone that for all of the talk about Stuart and Karen, the fact remained two doctors were dead thanks to the actions of both Irbys (Oh, how the end of the Great Gatsby came to mind. "That is how Tom and Daisy were..".). Judge Green said the allegations made by Dr. Dedousis against Stuart Irby were a "charge for another day for another judge". She told Karen "these themes are not new to me". Judge Green said "I've often had to sentence good people" and that "80% of the people she sentenced were parents". That last statement was the foreshadowing of what was to come as it was clear where Judge Green was going in her ruling.

Everyone has seen the videos by now. They don't portray the shock in the courtroom as Judge Green announced the sentence: 20 years reduced to eighteen years for each count to be served concurrently. Tears flowed freely among Karen's friends and others as it sunk in how a door was shut on yet another life in this horrible tragedy. Shock was the order of the day as whereever I went in Jackson today, people expressed shock at the sentence. Karen was led away in handcuffs as Mac personally escorted her to her new life. It was quite simply stunning to realize Judge Green had completely ignored the families and imposed such a sentence on Karen Irby. While justice was served and Dr.'s Pogue and Dedousis were "honored" today, there were no winners.

Note: Correction time. WLBT reported on the Irby's marital problems and used several documents. Want to guess where they came from? You got it. This website. Go to 1:52 of this video and look at the printing in the upper left hand corner. It says Kingfish. I use fax to email service to create .pdfs. Thats my work unattributed on the site.

18 years. You all saw it. I'm somewhat blown away right now. Will write more in a few.

Packed courtroom. Only two rows of seating. Haley, Megan are here. My prediction? Time served will be 5-7 years. Family will ask for leniency.

**Exclusive. No reprint of reports without permission from Jackson Jambalaya**

JJ has obtained a copy of both accident reconstruction reports in the Irby case. The first one states JPD officer Christopher Barnhart was the investigator and E. Martin was the officer on the scene. Hinds County Deputy Sheriff Michael Huff took the measurements used in both reports.

There are interesting facts in the reports. Officer Barnhart states "Jackson Police Communications contacted me at my residence, in reference to this collision on February 11, 2009, 2236 hours, at which time my assistance was requested in reconstructing this collision. I went to the scene and I began my investigation." JJ has learned Barnhart was not on call that night and was the least experienced accident reconstruction officer at JPD. The Irby wreck was the first accident reconstruction case for Barnhardt. The question must be asked why JPD went out of its way to assign the case to Officer Barnhart for what it knew would be a high-profile case, when it had more experienced officers available to be utilized first if such a wreck occurred.
Barnhart also admits he was the one who ordered the BAC test for Mrs. Irby. However, Barnhart makes a mistake on page eight of the report. He states Mrs. Irby was guilty of a DUI 1st Offense Refusal in 1997. As JJ pointed out in an earlier post, Mrs. Irby was convicted in a Rankin County Justice Court of the offense BUT was acquitted when it was appealed to County Court in Rankin County and the prosecution dismissed the case. The rest of the report is pretty straightforward as it states his conclusion the speed was 114 mph (no calculations are included although he does state the formula used) and Mrs. Irby's driving caused the wreck.

The measurement data starts on page twelve of the report. It states the data was measured on February 16, 2009, five days after the accident. Deputy Michael Huff measured the scene while JPD officers Barnhart and Joe Cotten were present. Sources have also informed JJ Huff was used because no one at JPD was qualified to use the machine to take the measurements. The report also has no photographs whatsoever of the scene or the marks.

Hinds County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Huff submitted the second report on March 12, 2010. It confirms the left front tire of the Mercedes was missing from the car. It was this tire that was not included in evidence. One can only speculate why JPD did not obtain the tire nor include it in the evidence submitted for the case. Huff states "I then used the critical speed formula to calculate the Irby Mercedes speed to be 70 miles per hour." This was important as the lower speed probably would not support a depraved heart murder charge and explains why the District Attorney indicted Mrs. Irby for Aggravated DUI/Death the day before her guilty plea.

It should be noted Officer Barnhart is currently the subject of some recent controversy. WLBT reported he was recently assigned to the dog pound (that is the dog pound in Jackson, not the dawg pound. Have to spell that out for State fans, you know) after he engaged in unprofessional conduct during the recent visit to Jackson by the First Lady. JJ has also learned (ready for this?), Barnhardt filed an EEOC complaint against the city of Jackson for his transfer to the dog pound. It is safe to say the JPD officer will be the subject of much scrutiny for some time to come.

Copy of reports

Will explain this one later. The Wolf is on this mf.

Update: Going to write about this one in a while. What I will say at this time is that Christopher Barhnardt, yes, that guy, conducted the first accident reconstruction. Turned out he had used the wrong mark to calculate speed. When the D.A. went back to recalculate the speed, the error was discovered. JJ has also learned that Officer Barnhardt had flunked a portion of the state test for becoming certified in accident reconstruction although he was certified elsewhere.

Several sources have also informed JJ that Officer Barnhardt tried to charge the plaintiff's $2,500 for his deposition in the civil lawsuit. Mr. Barnhardt eventually testified for free.

1. Sentencing May 11
2. Plead guilty to two counts of culpable negligent manslaughter.
3. State made no sentencing recommendation. Completely up to Judge Green.
4. Stuart M. Irby did not show up.
5. Karen Irby can't drive.

97-3-47. Homicide; all other killings.
"Every other killing of a human being, by the act, procurement, or culpable negligence of another, and without authority of law, not provided for in this title, shall be manslaughter."

§ 97-3-25. Homicide; penalty for manslaughter.
"Any person convicted of manslaughter shall be fined in a sum not less than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year, or both, or in the penitentiary not less than two years, nor more than twenty years."

"Culpable negligence is defined as "the conscious and wanton or reckless disregard
of the probabilities of fatal consequences to others as a result of the wilful creation of an unreasonable risk thereof." Smith v. State, 197 Miss. 802, 816, 20 So. 2d 701, 705, (1945)."

JJ can also report there is no agreed upon sentence. That will be entirely up to Judge Green.

See sidebar on lower right side of page for collection of all posts on the Irby case.

A police report filed by JPD reveals an investigation for child abuse at the home of Stuart Irby was opened on February 9, 2009. Jackson Jambalaya filed a public records request for any police reports involving the Irbys or incidents at their address.

The report states a complaint was filed, the child was spanked, and there was "bruising on both sides of her buttocks". No arrests have been made nor is it known if there is an ongoing investigation. As a minor is involved, the complainant is not identified and the report does not say who reported the alleged abuse. The officer assigned by JPD is H. L. Bullock. However, sources close to the investigation have informed JJ a doctor that treated the child notified the police. JJ has also learned an investigation was opened at DHS about the same incident and the investigator is Hazel Walker. Sources have also informed JJ the child was taken to the complaining doctor by both parents and that Stuart M. Irby, Sr. is accused of causing said injuries.

This is not the first time a police report has been filed at the Irby home. The first incident was on January 7, 2007. Mr. Irby was arrested for Simple Assault. The report states "suspect was intoxicated. When complainant began to question suspect suspect became upset. Suspect slapped complainant across the floor. Suspect continued striking complainant with a closed fist." The report was taken at approximately 8:00 PM. The second one was for Simple Assault as well and was filed the next day and states "after being released from jail, suspect arrived home wanting to take a shower, Complainant attempted to tell suspect to leave, Suspect pushed complainant." The complainant in the charges filed is Karen Irby and the suspect is Stuart M. Irby, Sr.

Unfortunately, that was not the last report as another one was filed on April 7, 2008 at 10:15 PM. The report states "Suspect threw water on complainant and complainant's baby. Complainant entered into another room; Suspect followed complainant knocking complainant to the floor. Suspect grabbed the baby running into the pool area. Complainant followed after suspect, attempting to get the baby. Suspect struck complainant across the head; Complainant fell into the pool."

It is important to point out that although there were multiple arrests, Mr. Irby was not convicted of any of the charges. The wreck that killed Dr.'s Pogue and Dedousis occurred two days after the police report was filed for the alleged child abuse.

Copy of reports

Judge Kidd ruled in a hearing this morning, via telephone concerning the motion to quash and response filed by the opposing parties in the wrongful death action filed against Stuart and Karen Irby, that he would not adjudicate the pleadings until holding another hearing on Febuary 8.

Attorneys John Farese (plaintiffs), Andi Small (plaintiffs), Richard Montague (defendants), and Tommy Page (defendants) participated in the call. (JJ and WLBT listened. It is unknown if any other media were on the call.) Montague spoke first, arguing Mr. Irby had no recollection and was not capable of providing a deposition. He said he "suffered a serious brain injury to his frontal lobe" and was "in a coma for five weeks." Irby's lawyer said the injury left him incapable of distinguishing a real memory from one based on what others told him. He claimed Dr. Clea Evans was a member of the treatment team, and even though she was not a medical doctor, had the most contact with Mr. Irby and was thus qualified to offer a professional expert opinion on Mr. Irby's ability to testify.

Mr. Farese said Dr. Evans offered "not one scintilla of evidence" in support of her claim he could not testify. He pointed out Dr. Evans' letter was not a sworn statement, she had not been deposed, and there was no medical evidence mentioned in her letter. Judge Kidd asked why Irby can not simply tell the court "I don't recall." Montague replied the stress would harm Mr. Irby.

Farese, ever the Southern gentleman who exudes a laid-back aw-shucks manner that hides a sledgehammer of a mind, called the letter from Dr. Evans "conjecture" and again pointed out she cited no evidence to support her claim and said "I'm not going to beat Mr. Irby up in a deposition." Farese argued either Mr. Irby should provide a sworn statement saying he doesn't remember anything or Dr. Evans should provide some actual medical evidence.

Farese went further and asked if Dr. Evans and Dr. Parillo (Irby's treating physician) thought that if he was incapacitated to that degree, then why didn't they take away his driver's license or have a conservator appointed for him to manage his affairs? Mind you now, Mr. Farese made these statements ever so nicely and professionally in a manner that gave signs he had maybe schooled at the UVA or the Halls of Eaton. Page admitted the parties had been in confidential settlement discussions over the last several weeks and blamed the talks delaying the deposition.

Judge Kidd ruled he would hear all motions on February 8 and that he strongly preferred to hold these hearings in his courtroom and not over the telephone. Judge Kidd also decreed he was not going to rule on the motions until depositions were taken of the two doctors. (They are scheduled next week.)

Earlier Poston Motion to Quash and Response to Motion