A legal move in the case of the State of Georgia vs. State Rep. Trey Kelley is coming up on Friday with a hearing scheduled for the Polk County Courthouse at 10 a.m.
The defense is seeking a motion to quash the indictment on a single misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct for his involvement in the hit and run death of Eric Keais in September 2019.
Kelley, arrested in December 2020 on the charge following a grand jury indictment, is set to face Senior Judge Stephen Schuster of Cobb County, who recently retired from the Superior Court there at year’s end.
Judge Schuster was brought in to hear the case after both Tallapoosa Circuit Superior Court Judges decided conflicts would not allow them to sit on the bench for any potential trial and recused themselves prior to warrants being served on the Majority Whip of the State House of Representatives.
The motion to quash the indictment is a procedural move made by the defense in an attempt to get the charges dropped before having to proceed onward to a trial.
Kelley is accused of being involved in the death of Keais on September 11, 2019. Keais was riding a bicycle along North Main Street across from Community Share Ministries in Cedartown where a memorial cross and bicycle have been put up in the time since. Keais later died from wounds he suffered when he was struck by Ryan Dover in a truck, who didn’t stop to render aid.
Dover is alleged to have pulled into a parking lot down the road instead and called Kelley at the time for help, and in turn Kelley is alleged to have called Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome to have officers check the area instead of calling 911.
Keais lay in a ditch for an hour before he was found by an officer and emergency personnel arrived on the scene to help.
Kelley was arrested in December and released the same day on a $1,000 bond.
Check back for updates on the hearing following the Friday morning court appearance.
