The potential death penalty trial for an Augusta man accused of killing a Richmond County Sheriff’s detective is going nowhere fast.
At a Richmond County Superior Court hearing for Alvin T. Hester, 27, Friday, April 1, it was determined nothing can really progress in the case until Hester undergoes a mental evaluation to determine competency.
Hester, 27, is accused of murder in the Nov. 19, 2019, fatal shooting of Richmond County Sheriff Investigator Cecil D. Ridley.
The 51-year-old veteran officer of the narcotics squad was working that night with the crime suppression team which was targeting areas with the potential for illegal drug and weapon possessions. The team members stopped at the Augusta Mart on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard where Hester was standing in the parking lot with others, according to news reports at the time. He went into the store, and Ridley and another officer followed him. Ridley barely made it inside the door when he was shot.
Friday, Judge John Flythe scheduled a status conference in Hester’s case. He was assigned to the case last summer when the previous judge became one of three judges in the newly created Columbia County Judicial Circuit.
Judge J. Wade Padgett previously issued decisions on 20 motions in the case, but 58 other motions are still pending, said District Attorney Jared Williams. But he and defense attorney Jerilyn Bell agreed that before the motions can be heard, Hester must be evaluated to determine mental competency.
Hester’s legal representation has also changed, Bell said. His prior two attorneys have left the Office of the Georgia Capital Defender, and Hester’s new lead attorney is from out-of-state and has not yet passed the Georgia bar exam. She is expected to pass the exam and become licensed to practice law in Georgia next month.
Because of the legal procedure established in Georgia for capital murder trials, Hester must be represented by two defense attorneys who meet a level of experience and training not required in non-death penalty prosecutions.
The murder of a law enforcement is one of 12 conditions that allows a prosecutor to seek a death sentence.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
