Prosecutors in Baldwin County are pushing back after a circuit judge threw out a manslaughter case against a Fairhope man just before his trial was set to begin, taking the fight to the state’s appellate court.
Baldwin County Circuit Judge Langford Floyd dismissed the indictment against 27-year-old Kevin Davis earlier this month, ruling on a technical question about how the charge itself was written. According to court filings, the central issue was whether the indictment’s language clearly enough spelled out the accusation against Davis so that he could adequately prepare a defense.
The Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office has now filed an appeal with the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, asking the higher court to reinstate the case and allow it to proceed to trial.
The charge stems from a crash that happened back in March 2010 on County Road 83 near the Rosinton community. Davis was accused of driving a Chrysler Sebring while speeding and under the influence of alcohol when the vehicle left the roadway, according to accident investigators. The Alabama Highway Patrol reported that the car drifted onto the shoulder, struck a ditch, became airborne and ultimately collided with a utility pole.
A passenger in the vehicle, 23-year-old Randall McKenzie of Foley, was killed in the crash. Davis was indicted on a manslaughter charge in connection with McKenzie’s death, and the case had been working its way through the Baldwin County court system for several years before reaching the trial stage this fall.
District Attorney Hallie Dixon said her office intends to use every available legal option to keep the case alive, framing the appeal as a matter of accountability for the defendant’s alleged actions and closure for McKenzie’s family. In a public statement, Dixon said her staff remains committed to continuing the fight on behalf of the family as the case moves through the appellate process.
Cases dismissed on indictment-language grounds can sometimes be refiled with corrected charging documents, but prosecutors in this case opted instead to challenge the dismissal directly, arguing the original indictment was legally sufficient. How the appellate court rules could determine whether Davis faces trial on the original manslaughter charge or whether the case must restart from an earlier stage in the process.
No timetable has been set for when the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals will rule on the matter. Until a decision is reached, the case remains in a holding pattern, with the fatal 2010 crash still unresolved in Baldwin County’s court system more than four years after it occurred.