A Mobile County judge has declared a mistrial in a murder trial after determining that prosecutors failed to turn over a key piece of evidence to the defense.
The Case
William Malik Glover, 30, of Mobile, was on trial for the 2023 fatal shooting of 39-year-old Al Dimitri Craig on Flicker Drive.
Testimony during the trial made clear the existence of a cell phone extraction — a forensic download of data from a phone. The defense had not been given a report of that extraction and moved for a mistrial. Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael Windom granted the motion.
What the District Attorney’s Office Said
The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors missed the report during their pretrial review.
The office said the prosecutors trying the case were themselves unaware that the cell phone analysis existed, and do not know whether the evidence is significant to the case one way or the other.
Why an Undisclosed Report Stops a Trial
Criminal discovery rules require the state to disclose evidence in its possession to the defense before trial. The obligation is broader than most people assume: it extends to material held by law enforcement agencies working on the case, not only to what individual prosecutors have personally reviewed.
That is why a report the trial prosecutors did not know about still creates a disclosure problem. The state as a whole is treated as having possession of it.
A cell phone extraction is a particularly consequential category of evidence in a homicide case. Extractions routinely capture messages, call logs, location data, photographs and app activity, any of which can bear on timeline, motive, relationships between the parties or the credibility of witnesses. Because its contents can cut in either direction, the defense cannot make an informed decision about how to try the case without seeing it.
When the existence of such a report surfaces mid-trial, the court has limited options. A continuance may not cure the problem if a jury has already heard testimony shaped by an incomplete record, and pressing forward risks a conviction that would be reversed on appeal. A mistrial resets the case to a point where both sides have the same information.
What Happens Now
A mistrial on these grounds is not an acquittal and does not end the prosecution. Prosecutors will be able to try the case again at a future date with a different jury.
Before that happens, the defense will have access to the cell phone extraction report, and both sides will be able to evaluate whether its contents change their assessment of the case. Whether the material proves significant remains unknown — the district attorney’s office said it does not yet know.
The Cost of a Restart
A retrial carries real costs beyond the courtroom calendar. Witnesses must be recalled and testify again, sometimes years after the events at issue. The family of Al Dimitri Craig, whose death occurred in 2023, now waits longer for a resolution. And a defendant who has already stood trial once faces the process a second time.
Those costs are what disclosure rules are designed to avoid. The rules exist precisely so that trials are not derailed by evidence surfacing in the middle of testimony.
Where Things Stand
No new trial date had been announced at the time of the mistrial. As with any pending criminal case, the charge against Glover is an allegation, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
South Alabama News will report a new trial date when the court sets one.