A Charles Mix County judge has agreed that Stephanie Hubers can’t get a fair trial in Lake Andes and has moved it to Sioux Falls.
Hubers’ attorney argued that 32 percent of potential jurors who returned questionnaires already believed she was guilty. Judge Bruce Anderson also noted that a number of potential jurors also had made up their minds Hubers was innocent and being used as a scapegoat in the GEAR UP grant fiasco.
Most of the potential Charles Mix County jurors also know someone involved in Hubers’ case. Many went to church with her and others were teachers who had connections to Mid Central Educational Cooperative where Hubers was assistant business manager.
Hubers is accused of helping Scott and Nicole Westerhuis steal money and then take payments from them for keeping quiet.
Judge Anderson noted that by moving Hubers trial to Minnehaha County, there would be a pool of 10,000 jurors to chose from.
In addition to moving the location, the judge also moved Hubers trial start date from March 1 to June 25.
Two other GEAR UP defendants, Stacy Phelps and Dan Guericke trials are scheduled for June 25 through July 20. Now Hubers trial will begin first, followed by the other two defendants.
