SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Monday, a judge is trying to determine where to hold a Moody County murder trial. On Friday, Judge Greg Stoltenburg decided it would be easier for Joseph Hoek to get a fair trial in a location other than Flandreau in Moody County.
Hoek is accused of intentionally hitting and killing Deputy Ken Prorock with his car in 2024. Hoek is facing a first-degree murder charge, and prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if he is found guilty.
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The main reason the judge decided to move the trial was a court-approved survey of Moody County Residents. Fifty-nine percent said they have already formed an opinion about Joseph Hoek’s guilt or innocence. Therefore, the trial will be moved to another community where people are less familiar with the case. Sheriff Troy Wellman says that once the judge selects the new venue, there are numerous details that need to be worked out regarding Hoek’s confinement for the trial.
“Who’s going to do courthouse security? Am I going to be doing prisoner security, or are they? No matter where we move it, that is a conversation with the people that it gets moved to, from my end of the world on law enforcement so I waiting for wherever that is going to get set at so I can start to have those conversations with, the sheriff, the jail administrator whoever juts so we can start to figure out what they looks like,” said Wellman…