The trial for one of the men accused of murdering a Letcher County man on New Year’s Day 2014 is, again, set to begin next week.
According to court records, James Huffman IV, of Pikeville, will stand trial beginning Monday, Dec. 4, in Letcher Circuit Court in the stabbing death of 24-year-old Michael Hogg. Huffman is accused of acting in complicity with another Pike County man, Patrick Smith, if Hogg’s death.
The trials for both Huffman and Smith have been delayed numerous times over the case’s 45-month history. Huffman had been set to stand trial back in April, but the proceedings were delayed after a witness in the case was killed in a car crash near Jenkins Easter Sunday. A trial date has not yet been set for Patrick Smith, and no hearings are currently scheduled in his case.
Huffman is facing charges of complicity to commit murder; three counts of attempted murder; and a charge of complicity to criminal mischief in the first degree. He’s currently lodged in the Letcher County Jail. Patrick Smith is currently being held for Letcher County officials in the Pike County Detention Center.
*Updated to clarify information regarding the April 2017 crash.
