Judge denies request to postpone Paris trial in slaying of 6-year-old | Lexington Herald Leader

PARIS — A judge denied a defense attorney's request Thursday to postpone the trial of a Paris man accused of killing a 6-year-old boy in 2007.

Lewis "Buck" Ballard's trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 5 in Bourbon Circuit Court. Ballard's attorney, La Mer Kyle-Griffiths of Maysville, asked Judge Rob Johnson to postpone the trial because she is scheduled to have surgery that month.

Ballard, 50, is charged with murder and first-degree sodomy in the death of Wesley Dylan Mullins, whose body was found in a garage at 1406 Main Street in Paris on Aug. 4, 2007. The garage has since been torn down and a building is going up that will house non-profit organizations to benefit children.

Johnson cited other continuances of the trial in denying the request and said that the public "loses faith in the judicial system when it takes more than two years to bring a case to trial."

He said the Department of Public Advocacy would have to ensure that Ballard has proper counsel.

Ballard is scheduled to return to court on May 8.