Hoek murder trial delayed until October

FLANDREAU, SD (KELO) — A South Dakota death penalty case will wait another five months before going to trial.

On Thursday, a judge rescheduled the first-degree murder trial of Joseph Hoek to October 14th.

Hoek is accused of killing Moody County Chief Deputy Ken Prorok during a pursuit one year ago.

‘High-risk’ DOC offender back in jail after release

Before Thursday’s hearing, Joseph Hoek was scheduled to go to trial on May 19th for the death of Moody County Deputy Ken Prorok.

But his attorneys asked that the trial be delayed in order to hire more defense experts to address any mental health issues in the case.

In the courtroom, Attorney General Marty Jackley told the judge he “softly objected” to moving the trial date, but added that October 14th is a reasonable time frame.

“I did object to moving the May 19th trial date but as I also indicated to the court, there’s additional steps being taken by the defense counsel that are reasonable, which puts us to a more realistic trial date of October 14th,” Jackley said.

Jackley says Prorok’s family is dealing with the delay as best they can.

“This is a difficult case for any family. I would tell you that the family has been strong, have been helpful, I had the opportunity to meet with them earlier today,” Jackley said.

The Moody County Sheriff said delaying the trial for five months may place an additional strain on his staff.

“It… kind of sucks. But it’s also, we understand that that’s the way this goes. He’s entitled to a speedy trial by statute and by Constitution,” Moody County Sheriff Troy Wellman said.

Wellman says he may have to readjust vacation and shift schedules for his deputies to ensure he has the staffing to provide tight security for what will be a high-profile and emotional murder trial this fall.

The judge also ordered pre-trial motions to be filed by April 25th.

There is another status hearing set for May 8th.