A trial has been postponed to December for a Springdale man arrested last year in connection with the rape a woman in 2012 at a parking lot on the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus.
Cesar Michael Figueroa, 24, had been scheduled to have his trial Thursday. But, wearing an orange-and-white prison uniform, he said in court he wanted a new attorney.
He appeared in Washington County Circuit Court with attorney Jason Kearney, who in August filed court documents on behalf of Figueroa stating he "intends to rely on the defense of insanity and/or mental incapacitation." Earlier this month, Kearney filed a motion to suppress incriminating statements Figueroa made to police, citing laws granting the accused a right to have an attorney.
Figueroa was arrested after his DNA -- collected after an unrelated arrest -- reportedly matched that of a DNA sample extracted as part of an investigation into a reported rape. A student told police she was raped at parking lot 14, close to the eastern border of UA's main campus.
Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Bill Storey excused Kearney from the case and assigned it to the Washington County public defender's office.
Outside the courtroom, Kearney declined to comment.
In an email, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett wrote that Figueroa now has a trial date of Dec. 17.
NW News on 10/24/2014