WVIR – CHARLOTTESVILLE (WVIR) - A judge is moving a high-profile federal case out of Charlottesville.
Wednesday, Judge Glen E. Conrad granted a change of venue for the racketeering and murder case against six alleged gang members. The trial will be held in Roanoke.
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Prosecutors say four of the six alleged gang members abducted and murdered Waynesboro Reserve Police Captain Kevin Wayne Quick in January 2014. Quick's body was found a week later in Goochland.
Four suspects - Daniel Mathis, Shantai Shelton, Mersadies Shelton and Kweli Uhuru - are charged with the murder of 45-year-old Quick. Two other suspects - Halisi Uhuru and Anthony Stokes - are not charged in his death, but accused of being the gang's ring leaders in the racketeering conspiracy.
Defense attorneys for Halisi Uhuru, Mersadies and Shantai Shelton argued the new trial be held in Roanoke.
Kweli Uhuru and Daniel Mathis attorney's wanted next February's trial to be moved to Richmond.
Anthony Stokes didn't have a preference.
The change of venue comes after Judge Conrad granted a mistrial for all six defendants back in May. This was because investigators discovered Kweli Uhuru (also known as Travis Bell) had obtained and shared a list of potential jurors and their information.
Judge Conrad says the new trial needs to be in Roanoke because juror security is now a major factor in the case. He emphasized it will exhaust a lot of resources and take too much time to find a suitable jury pool in Charlottesville.
The judge also says he intends to have an anonymous jury for next the new trial. That means strict rules for any juror information given to defendants during the jury selection process.
Wednesday, Judge Conrad set a date for another hearing; defense for Daniel Mathis and Kweli Uhuru have filed motions for dismissal based on the claim of double jeopardy, where a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime.
Arguments for that will be in Charlottesville U.S. District Court on September 14.