When it comes to one of their own, state prosecution takes a lighter approach regardless of the crime committed. The attorney’s offices of both Shelby County and Moniteau County proved this beyond doubt with their recent handling of a DWI case involving a state prosecutor. For the last four months, the case against Shayne Healea, who is a prosecuting attorney from Moniteau County, is stagnating in the Shelby County Circuit Court without any filings from either side.
Healea was arrested late last year when he backed his Ford into the glass block window of a restaurant. The ramming sent shards of broken glass towards the patrons in the eatery. Four people suffered minor injuries as a result of the accident, but Healea coolly drove away from the scene of the crime without so much as a backward glance.
He was stopped by a patrol car a little later but refused an onsite breath test, so he was put through a blood test to determine the alcohol level in his body. The tests results are awaited. In the meanwhile, his attorney secured his release on bail and Healea has been out since.
The original indictment was filed in Boone County on Nov. 21 and Healea was charged with five felony charges including second degree assault. A discovery was also filed in the matter by the Assistant Attorney general of Boone County. However, the defense filed a motion for change of venue and Shelby County was jointly suggested by both sides.
Since then, the matter seems to have frozen. At least, till June, Healea was not scheduled to appear in the circuit court of Shelby County. Moreover, legal experts are suggesting that the slower the case moves the better it gets for the defendant, particularly if he is not incarcerated. So, it can be safely said that at the moment this case seems to be going nowhere.