Murder suspect’s hearing continued to July

The preliminary hearing for Timothy David Blaney for the death of Skylar Huffield was given a continuance to a different date Wednesday.

Public defender David Martinez made the motion to continue earlier this week. A new preliminary hearing has been set for July 20.

Blaney is accused of beating Huffield during the early morning hours of May 25. Pocatello Police responded to a disturbance at 3842 Hawthorne Road and found a severely injured Huffield. He was taken to Portneuf Medical Center, where he died from his injuries the next day.

Police found Blaney around 6:35 a.m. after witnesses identified him as the suspect. He was charged with first-degree murder with an enhancement for using a deadly weapon, which police identify as a 2×4.

Bannock County chief deputy attorney Zach Parris brought up at the hearing the four witnesses he’s interviewed have been represented by the public defender’s office. He said he would be emailing Martinez their names to see if there’s any conflict of interest.

Parris said if there are any conflict of interests found then a new attorney would be brought in to represent Blaney.

Editor’s note: The headline and body of this article have been corrected to show the correct information. Blaney did not waive his hearing as was originally posted.