The Dawsonville defendant accused of killing 19-year-old Kaleb Duckworth will likely have a late summer trial.
During a March 8 hearing, Northeastern Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Kathlene Gosselin predicted a July or August 2022 trial for 20-year-old Daniel Lee Roberts’ pending murder case.
Roberts’ attorney said he finished receiving discovery for the 2021 case last month and asked for a pretrial hearing within the next 90 days.
Gosselin said that while scheduling would be constrained, she would see about coming over to the Dawson County Courthouse for a pretrial hearing. Similarly, scheduling constraints were cited as a main reason for having Roberts’ trial later in 2022.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Conley Greer predicted a trial would last eight days, given the evidence and witnesses.
Roberts also has a pending aggravated assault case against him from 2019, but he and his lawyer are still waiting for more discovery on that matter.
Documents for the older case alleged that after getting in a verbal disagreement with one victim, he hit them while leaving a Dawson-area parking lot on Oct. 23, 2019.
After being arrested that same night, Roberts was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during commission of a crime and carrying a concealed weapon and reckless driving.
When the incident with Kaleb Duckworth happened, Roberts was actually out on a $20,200 bond for another case from 2019.
Roberts allegedly caused Duckworth’s death because of a fight at the Dawson County Applebee’s on July 25, 2021.
He has been indicted on two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery for the newer case.
That indictment alleges that Roberts punched the younger Dawsonville teen with a closed fist, causing serious brain damage.
After the fight, Duckworth was taken to a hospital with severe brain trauma and died on July 27.
Bond for the 2021 case was initially denied.
Following his July arrest, bond for the older case was subsequently revoked on Aug. 31, 2021. Court documents from that time cited that he violated conditions of the 2019 bond by allegedly committing new offenses.
A pretrial officer reported that so far, Roberts has been keeping with his pretrial terms since his bail was set at $100,000 on Dec. 14, 2021 (for a total $110,200 bond). He was released from Dawson County Sheriff’s Office custody on Dec. 23.