CLEARFIELD – The trial for an area man accused of killing a woman while she was mowing her lawn in DuBois in 2015 is scheduled for January.
Joshua Jeffrey Nelson, 32, left Penn Highlands DuBois, and walked into the Brown Street area of DuBois where he allegedly stole a vehicle and struck a woman as she worked in her yard, according to previous repots.
He also allegedly assaulted two women at a nearby home. These events occurred on Aug. 12, 2015.
Nelson is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, burglary, resisting arrest, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.
Nelson has been incarcerated on a probation violation since the time of the incident.
He had a trial set for Oct. 30, but it has been continued again because Nelson himself filed a request for a different attorney, according to court records. This motion was denied in November.
A new jury was picked on Thursday and the trial is now scheduled for Jan. 29 through Feb. 2.
Nelson has been represented by Mike Marshall of the public defender’s office.
In his handwritten motion asking for new representation, Nelson claimed Marshall has failed to file motions that Nelson has requested, including one regarding a change in venue for his trial.
“He is not pursuing my interests as far as plea negotiations,” Nelson wrote.
Attached to the motion was a copy of a letter, Marshall wrote to Nelson urging him to sign a plea agreement because Marshall feels that “it is very unlikely that you would be acquitted of first-degree murder.” He advised that a plea for a 20-year sentence was better than taking a chance on receiving a life sentence.
At the time of the incident, Nelson was on probation for a criminal trespass case from 2014 and a burglary case from 2013.
He was also awaiting a preliminary hearing in two other cases from July of 2015. One of these cases was continued because he was admitted to a mental hospital in Clarion.
On July 31, 2015, Nelson was charged in another case and at that time told police he left the hospital too soon and wanted to be admitted back to the facility. Nelson was then transported to an area hospital where he spoke with a mobile crisis worker.
For a complete breakdown of the events of Aug. 12, 2015, click here.
