MOULTRIE — Extra court weeks were scheduled in Colquitt County Superior Court for spring to clear out several murder cases that have been pending for some time but those cases have either been continued or resulted in a mistrial. Still, prosecutors say, the extra time in court has been productive in bringing forth new information in these cases and guilty pleas in other, lesser offenses.

Two mistrials occurred in one week, and several other murder trials were continued.

“But on all of those weeks, we’ve gotten pleas. The same with this one. A couple of the bigger cases, we had hoped to get on and try, but for various reasons we did not exactly do as we wanted to,” said Assistant District Attorney Brian McDaniel said.

The felony murder case against Craig D. Gandy case was continued this week. New evidence was found, and other people were arrested in the case, so the defendant had a right to ask for a continuance, McDaniel said.

Gandy, 20, of Moultrie is implicated in the armed robbery and shooting death of his boss Karen Marie Moore on Coventry Circle last October. Moore, 46, was shot six times and killed during the home invasion. Her husband James Moore, 51, was shot three or four times but survived and was able to call for help. About $10,000 was stolen from the couple.

Prosecutors also have charged Joshua Peterson, 20, and Jim Cloud, 21, both of Moultrie in the murder and armed robbery. Jessica Hernandez, 24, also of Moultrie was charged for armed robbery in relation to the case. Peterson and Hernandez have yet to be indicted.

“While the case didn’t go to trial, I can’t say it was fruitless,” McDaniel said.

Scheduling conflicts delayed the murder case against Larry King and a mistrial earlier this month resulted in the murder case against Anthony Thompson. King, 57, was charged in the Oct. 2007 stabbing death of Anthony Bernard “Amp” Wise, 39, at 701 Sixth St. S.E.

Thompson is the remaining defendant in a case where Hispanic farmworker Diego Diaz Gomez was shot dead during an alleged home invasion on Fifth Avenue Southwest in Oct. 2006. The three other defendants pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The March 2007 murder case against Jerrod Blackwell, 19, Ellenton, was continued in February. Blackwell is the remaining defendant to face charges in the shooting death of 19-year-old Shedrick O. Bonner. His co-defendant, Ktherius D. Johnson, 18, 1008 Elliot Brown St., pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter in August.

Bonner, also known as "Scrooge," 624 Second St. S.W., had been charged with aggravated assault in the June 9, 2006, shooting spree at Shy Manor Apartments that resulted in the death of Eddie Sanchez Martin. Two other locals, Ponikarski "P.K." Green and Brykece Suggs, subsequently were charged with Martin’s murder.

Superior Court Judge James Hardy recently placed a gag order in the case because of the publicity surrounding the case and granted a continuance. The defense was also granted its motion to severe one count from the five-count indictment including armed robbery. The severed count involved Blackwell’s prior conviction of first offender aggravated assault.

Additionally, the public defender was granted funds to hire an expert witness for handwriting analysis and an investigator and was granted several other motions put forth by the defense.

“As we get a lot of these other things knocked down, it allows us an opportunity to come back with some of these cases that were continued in a normal trial week and be able to resolve them,” McDaniel said, adding that the extra time has paid off in terms of a full caseload basis.

The next criminal trial week in Moultrie is scheduled for the first week of June.