LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
PARIS—The attempted first-degree murder trial of Jordan Kollman has been delayed until late August after an Edgar County judge granted the defense’s request for a continuance just days before jury selection was set to begin.
Kollman appeared before Judge Mark Sullivan in Edgar County Circuit Court on Thursday, June 25, for a final pre-trial hearing ahead of his scheduled June 29 jury trial.
During the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Nathanael Harsy initially asked the court to postpone the trial, citing recently disclosed discovery and ongoing plea negotiations.
Harsy told the court that the defense had received additional discovery around June 16, including interviews with witnesses who reportedly observed a dark-colored SUV at White Oaks Park after the shooting. He argued the vehicle had not been adequately investigated and could potentially play an important role in the case.
As part of that effort, Harsy filed a motion seeking to have the court appoint a private investigator to assist the defense. Although no investigator had yet been identified, Harsy said one was being sought.
According to Harsy, one witness reported seeing a dark SUV at the scene before emergency responders arrived. He argued there were concerns that evidence may have been removed from the crime scene before law enforcement completed its investigation.
“My belief is some shell casings... were possibly removed from the scene,” Harsy argued, suggesting the unidentified vehicle could have been connected to individuals who arrived before police.
Harsy also presented a possible defense theory, telling the court there was a possibility Kollman had unintentionally encountered what may have been a drug transaction taking place at White Oaks, causing the situation to escalate rapidly.
Assistant State’s Attorney Lauren McQueen opposed delaying the trial, arguing the newly disclosed witness interviews did not contain any meaningful evidence that would justify postponing the case.
McQueen told the court the witnesses had arrived at White Oaks after the shooting while accompanying a family member on a fishing trip. They did not witness the shooting itself and only observed spent shell casings on the ground. She also noted the witnesses could provide virtually no identifying information about the SUV other than that it was dark in color.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Sullivan denied the defense’s motion to continue, finding that the additional witness information did not warrant delaying the trial.
The hearing then shifted to a motion filed by prosecutors seeking permission to use Kollman’s prior criminal convictions to impeach his credibility should he choose to testify during trial. McQueen argued the convictions were admissible under Illinois Rules of Evidence for impeachment purposes. Harsy objected to the motion for the record but offered little additional argument.
Before the court ruled on that issue, however, Harsy made an oral request for another continuance, this time informing the court that Kollman intended to retain private legal counsel.
Harsy said Kollman and his family had consulted with several attorneys and were working to obtain the funds necessary to hire one. He explained that financial difficulties had delayed the process but that Kollman’s father was expected to secure the required retainer.
Judge Sullivan asked whether any attorney had entered an appearance in the case. Harsy acknowledged that none had done so.
Sullivan expressed frustration with the request, noting that the court had already reserved multiple days for the trial.
“This is a five-day trial,” Sullivan said. “We’ve made arrangements to be able to have this trial next week. We can’t just drop them and find five days.”
McQueen informed the court that, after reviewing the case in preparation for trial, the prosecution had reduced its anticipated witness list from approximately 12 witnesses to about six and believed the trial could likely be completed in three days.
Despite his concerns, Sullivan ultimately granted the continuance based on Kollman’s stated intention to retain private counsel.
“I will incredibly reluctantly grant your motion,” Sullivan said. “I’m going to tell you right now, we’re picking the trial date, and we’re trying this case, or it’s getting resolved.”
The jury trial has been rescheduled to begin Aug. 24 at 8:30 a.m., with a final pre-trial conference scheduled for July 23 at 1:30 p.m. Kollman remains in the custody of the Edgar County Sheriff’s Office pending trial.