June 12, 2008 — There is no evidence that can "alter the course" of the government's case against 27-year-old Ian P. Tracy, U.S. Attorney Anthony Jenkins said at a Thursday hearing, but that may change if his defense attorney produces witnesses and other information that can clear Tracy of first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault and weapons charges.
Tracy, who was arrested earlier this month for the 2000 shooting death of Adassa Rolle, pleaded not guilty to all charges in V.I. Superior Court Thursday and requested a speedy jury trial. The case has been assigned to Judge Leon Kendall, who issued the warrant for Tracy's arrest in early February.
"Prior to appearing in court two weeks ago, the defense said there might be witnesses that can provide exculpatory evidence on behalf of Mr. Tracy," Jenkins said. "We have not gotten that information as yet, but we are still waiting to get these issues settled so we can make sure that we haven't charged an innocent person."
Jenkins said he had repeatedly gone through every document and piece of evidence in the case files and found no exculpatory evidence.
While Tracy's defense attorney, Treston Moore, assured the court that he "does have information for the Attorney General's Office," he also said the defense is trying to reconstitute files and documents that might have been destroyed or lost since the case first came under investigation eight years ago.
"We have been able to preserve one file — containing the DNA evidence that resulted in the charges originally being dropped against my client," Moore said. "We do have information — we're just in the process of gathering the witnesses, checking old emails and trying to verify all the information to make sure it isn't rumor."
Meanwhile, Tracy has been released on $10,000 bail into the custody of his wife and his business partner and is allowed to travel back and forth between his New York residence and the territory to attend hearings (See "Bail Set at $10,000 for Suspect in Reopened Murder Case from 2000.")
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