A co-defendant alongside Jonathan McCoy in the pending murder trial for Trigg County’s Thelma “Ileen” Barnett, more evidence is coming from both sides regarding Keisha Stewart’s potential involvement.
During Wednesday’s pre-trial conference in Trigg County Circuit Court, public defender Katie Riley noted Stewart has a bed date of March 13 for “Mountain of Hope” — a dual-diagnosis 30-day treatment facility. She issued that her client had previously been out on bond before a positive drug screen, allegedly coming while incarcerated, forced Stewart back into custody.
Stewart also has been in jail for more than six months, and Riley said there’s a belief that “Mountain of Hope” could transition to long-term treatment.
Furthermore, Riley recently filed a motion for an evidentiary bond hearing — something to which Judge Jamus Redd agreed.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins argued that Stewart’s return to jail was “of her own doing.”
Redd set the hearing for 9 AM, April 6.
Stewart is not charged with Barnett’s 2020 murder on Will Jackson Road, but gravity remains. She does have one count of complicity to second-degree arson, one count of complicity abuse of a corpse, one count of complicity tampering with physical evidence and one count of complicity burglary, second degree — all related to the Barnett crime.
In a separate Trigg County charge, she has one count of credit card fraud under $10,000.
The Stewart/McCoy joined trial is set for July 15, 2024.
