No trial date set in Bradenton double murder case

Attorneys in the case against two men charged with the Jan. 19 slayings of Karl Tuxford and Jordan Finlon are not prepared yet to go to trial.

Just before 1 p.m. Jan. 19, Tuxford, 38, was found shot to death in his vehicle in the 1100 block of Eighth Avenue East, after police received reports of gunfire. Less than an hour later, the body of Finlon, 23, was discovered by passing motorists on the side of Bishop Harbor Road in northern Manatee County.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 15 identified Ahmad Leon Dunbar as a suspect after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in the fatal shooting of Tuxford, but he has not been charged in Finlon’s death.

On Wednesday morning, Dunbar appeared before Circuit Court Judge Hunter Carroll for a case management hearing where attorneys discussed a possible trial date. Assistant State Attorney Art Brown suggested meeting again before setting the case for trial. Defense attorney Charles E. Lykes agreed.

Carroll set another case management hearing for July 6.

Brown indicated he also filed a motion Wednesday morning to compel the defense to provide fingerprints and a DNA sample.

Days after the slayings, the first suspect charged in the case, Dwayne Edward Cummings, 38, was arrested. He was later indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and armed kidnapping.

Cummings is also set to appear July 6 before Carroll.

Another suspect, Fredrick Douglas, 43, had been arrested on unrelated charges and questioned about the slayings, but he has not been charged.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 2:31 PM with the headline "No trial date set in Bradenton double murder case."