CONWAY -- A judge has set a pretrial hearing for May 8 in the capital-murder case of a teenager charged in the July 2015 shooting deaths of a Conway couple.
Hunter Drexler, 20, of Clinton appeared briefly before Judge Troy Braswell in Faulkner County Circuit Court during a brief hearing Tuesday.
Drexler's case is on hold while he awaits an Arkansas Supreme Court decision on whether he can be tried in juvenile court rather than in circuit court. Braswell has denied that request, and Drexler has appealed.
The Supreme Court recently denied Drexler's request for oral arguments in the juvenile-court issue.
Drexler was one of four teenagers charged in the shooting deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell, both 66. The other three reached plea agreements and are in prison.
If convicted as an adult, Drexler could face up to life in prison without parole. Because he was younger than 18 when the crime took place, he cannot be sentenced to death. He likely would face a less severe sentence in juvenile court.
Drexler is jailed without bail.
NW News on 11/09/2017