McDaniel to stay in jail until at least Aug. 4

Stephen McDaniel, a recent Mercer law school graduate whom police have called a person of interest in the Lauren Giddings homicide investigation, will remain in jail until at least an Aug. 4 bond hearing.

Floyd Buford, McDaniel’s attorney, said he filed a motion Monday requesting the hearing.

McDaniel, 25, is charged with two counts of burglary stemming from incidents two winters ago at the Barristers Hall apartments, where he and Giddings, 27, were next-door neighbors.

McDaniel has not been charged in connection with Giddings’ death and dismemberment. He was arrested on the burglary charges July 1, the day after Giddings’ remains were found inside a trash bin, wrapped in plastic, outside the Georgia Avenue apartment complex.

As of Monday, Macon police still had not received lab results from the FBI of tests performed on more than 200 pieces of evidence related to the Giddings investigation.

Police Chief Mike Burns said the GBI also is examining computers taken from the apartment complex.

McDaniel has remained in jail without bond since his arrest on the burglary charges.

Buford has said that a judge needed to decide whether Bibb County prosecutors would be disqualified from handling those cases before a bail bond was considered for McDaniel. McDaniel worked for the district attorney’s office for three months before his law school graduation.

On Monday, a Superior Court judge granted Bibb prosecutors permission to continue handling the burglary cases.

Buford said he requested that McDaniel’s case be placed on the next available bond calendar, which is Aug. 4.

The attorney said he’s still reviewing Judge Tripp Self’s order, and he hasn’t decided whether he’ll appeal the ruling.

In the 10-page order, Self ruled that neither the district attorney nor any member of his office have a “personal interest” in the outcome of the cases against McDaniel or an actual conflict of interest that would cause them to be disqualified.

Additionally, the defense hasn’t provided evidence showing that McDaniel would be at a disadvantage by having a local prosecutor on the cases or that prosecutors gained information during his employment that could be used against him. The defense also didn’t present evidence that the district attorney’s staff is prosecuting McDaniel for any personal interest or would have anything to gain personally from the prosecution, according to the order.

“Any potential ‘evidence’ of such a conflict is simply too remote and speculative at this point to warrant the court disqualifying the district attorney or his office,” according to the order.

District Attorney Greg Winters said he agrees with the judge’s ruling.

“I didn’t think there was any conflict or perceived conflict,” he said.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.

This story was originally published July 26, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "McDaniel to stay in jail until at least Aug. 4."