Tate trial date vacated

Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:37 AM

By Steve Anderson

The trial of a former Lawrence County man has been vacated after a judicial ruling last week.

Ray Tate made an appearance for a pretrial hearing last week in Clinton County Illinois, where he is charged with 30 Class X Illinois felony offenses. Those charges stem from a crime spree he went on in December of 2021 after the murder of Wayne County Sheriffs Deputy Sean Riley. He entered a rural farm home near Carlyle and threatened the family while fleeing from law enforcement. Tate was eventually captured by state and local police.

During the hearing, Tate's public defender argued that the charges should be dropped because he is already serving a life sentence in prison without parole for the Riley killing and his effort to withdraw his guilty plea to the death was rejected in court. However, the presiding judge disagreed and denied the motion to dismiss. The original trial scheduled to begin Monday September 16th was then vacated and a new date set for Monday, October 21st.