BULLHEAD CITY — A Bullhead City man facing substantial prison time if convicted of homicide in a trial set to begin Monday, instead gained freedom on Thursday, May 15.
Michael Kelso, 33, had been charged with prohibited possession of a firearm and second-degree murder for the March 29 shooting death of a Mohave Valley man. Mohave County Sheriff’s Office personnel found the body of Matthew Cemper, 33, at a property in the 10000 block of South Tropics Road in Mohave Valley.
U.S. Marshals arrested Kelso two months later in Williams.
Jury selection for Kelso’s trial was to begin Monday, but deputy Mohave County attorney Jacob Cote requested a continuance during Thursday’s hearing before Judge Doug Camacho.
Cote said the state “can’t make its case” with its law enforcement and other “tertiary witnesses.” He said the state needs other on-scene witnesses who saw or know things critical to achieving conviction.
Cote said extensive efforts to secure those witnesses and their testimony in recent months have failed. The prosecutor said Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and county attorney’s office investigators worked diligently to locate witnesses in the communities of Mohave Valley, Fort Mohave, Bullhead City and Needles.
Yet, the prosecutor said the witnesses have not been found, largely based on their lifestyles.
Cote’s disclosure prompted defense attorney Ken Countryman’s demand that the case be dismissed with prejudice and that his client be released after being held in custody for roughly 18 months. He was critical of the state holding Kelso so long, and trying to punt on the eve of trial.
“I just find that outrageous Judge,” Countryman said. “They don’t have a single person that witnessed this incident…The state never had a case and we’re asking that this case be dismissed with prejudice.”
Judge Camacho denied the state’s request to continue the trial. He vacated the trial, dismissed the charges and ordered Kelso’s release, which occurred hours later.
Cote indicated authorities will continue their witness hunt, hoping to indict the case again in the future.
