Murder defendant to remain jailed

A judge decided today there’ll be no bond for a young man awaiting a June 19 trial on charges of murder in a shooting death in Utica near Seneca.  Judge McIntosh rejected the defense request for a bond this morning after hearing from the prosecutor and the mother of the victim.  Pendleton resident Braxton Earl is charged with murder in the shooting death in 2021 of Richard Dennis Keese on Utica’s Padget Street.  Jason Alderman, deputy solicitor, told McIntosh his office is currently preparing to call to trial the state’s case against Earl during the June 19-23 week of Oconee General Sessions Court.  After hearing an appeal from defense lawyer Bruce Byrholdt, the judge asked Alderman to look into creating a better space in the jail complex for the defense to counsel with Earl before trial week.