Busy Day in Courts Thursday

Thursday will feature a few high profile cases in area courtrooms.

In Pike County, 53-year-old Dale Sandy will appear in court at 9 AM. Sandy initially pled guilty in the case, but is currently trying to withdraw his guilty plea. Sandy is facing counts on this case of sexual battery, dealing in a controlled substance, and dealing in a controlled substance with a prior conviction.

At 11:30 AM in Knox County, 35-year-old Jacob Messenger will be appearing in Knox County Superior Court 1. Messenger faces 4 counts of child molestation, a count of child molestation with the victim under the age of 14, child solicitation with the victim under the age of 14, and dissemination of material harmful to minors. A new jury trial date has been set for January 13th.

At 2:45 PM, 32-year-old Dylan Smith will appear in Knox Circuit Court. Smith is accused of murdering Taylor Hendershot on August 5th. In September, Smith’s legal team filed a motion to attempt to move the trial out of Knox County, but the motion was denied as the courts did not receive the request in time. The event is a final pre-trial conference. A jury trial in the matter is scheduled for November 4th.