WEST POINT – A father/son duo accused in the stabbing death of a Bancroft man will be tried separately.
Cuming County District Court Judge Mark Johnson issued a ruling Monday overruling prosecutors’ request to try Jody and Derek Olson together in the death of Ernest Warnock.
Judge Johnson said in his ruling that combining the two defendants in one trial would present a greater possibility for a mistrial, specifically related to Derek Olson’s Sixth Amendment rights.
Both Olsons were arrested in March of 2017 and accused separately of first degree murder and arson and Warnock was found stabbed to death in his burned-down home in rural Cuming County.
Jody Olson’s next court date has not yet been set. Derek Olson is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on September 6th.
