A district judge ruled in favor of 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony’s defense team, ordering that Collin County Judge John Roach Jr. be removed from future proceedings related to the case as attorneys appeal Anthony’s conviction.
Judge Sid Harle, a visiting administrative judge from San Antonio, issued the ruling during a hearing Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney, Texas. Harle ordered Roach’s recusal and said a new judge will be appointed to oversee the appeal proceedings before a hearing scheduled for 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 20, to determine whether Anthony should receive a new trial.
Roach was the judge who presided over Anthony’s June murder trial of Austin Metcalf, 17, at a high school track meet in Frisco. The closely watched trial drew national attention and was marked by controversy, racial tensions and public demonstrations in support of both families…