PUNTA GORDA — Prosecutors are again seeking a witness in homicide case, alleging the defendant is keeping key evidence out of a trial.
William Grant, the brother of accused Coulton Avenue shooter Nicholas Jerome Bell, is being ordered to appear in court Jan. 21 to argue against being held in contempt of court.
Circuit Judge Lisa Porter issued the order after Assistant State Attorney Caitlin Sorenson reported a subpoena for Grant to appear was returned unserved by law enforcement.
A trial for Bell was originally set for October. The trial was continued after prosecutors reported that one of their witnesses had missed a meeting to review his testimony.
Bell was originally arrested in 2022, after he allegedly attacked a man outside his Coulton Avenue home with a bat and a gunshot.
The man was later taken to a regional hospital, but died from his injuries.
Law enforcement surrounded Bell’s residence in the hours after the shooting in the belief that he was barricaded inside — only to later learn that he had fled the area.