COLUMBUS, Ind. — An Edinburgh man who has waited in jail more than four years for his trial will have to wait a while longer.
Jury selection was already underway Tuesday in Bartholomew Circuit Court Tuesday in the case of Teddy Allman, 51, charged with rape, criminal confinement and intimidation that allegedly occurred in September 2018. A conviction could result in a prison term of between 20 to 40 years.
On Tuesday morning, a jury pool of 80 residents were summoned. However, Judge Kelly Benjamin discovered there was a conflict between Allman and defense attorney Elliot Happel, and postponed the trial to enable Allman to get a new lawyer.
Besides Happel, Allman has previously been represented in this case by public defenders Michael DeArmitt, Chris Monroe and Don Edwards. There have also periods over the past four years when Allman attempted to serve as his own lawyer.
Every time there is a change in legal representation, it results in months of delays to allow a new attorney to become familiar with the case.
Allman is charged with the Sept. 10, 2018 rape and battery of a Bartholomew County woman after she had taken out a protective order against him. The victim told police that Allman, who had a makeshift knife, struck her in the face multiple times and kicked her, court documents state.
Investigators said Allman’s cell phone recorded portions of the assault, including his verbal order to the victim that she “had 30 seconds” to agree to drop the protective order or she and her family would be killed.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
