Capital murder defendant Oscar Roy Doster returns to Freestone county this week for a pre-trial hearing before Judge Deborah Evans, 87th State Judicial District.

Doster, who is being held at Limestone County Detention Center, was last in Freestone county in late April when he requested that a trial date be set.

Judge Evans granted his request, setting the trial for mid July.

The defendant is charged, along with James Harnage, with the 2005 murder of Freestone county rancher Dennis Courtney.

Courtney was found dead April 7, 2005 at his ranch in eastern Freestone county. Reports by Freestone county sheriff’s office investigators were that Courtney’s feet and hands were bound and that he sustained a blunt force wound to the head and gunshot wounds to the back and shoulder.

Doster was arrested about two weeks later in Bakersfield, Calif., after sustaining injuries in a 4-wheeler accident. The 4-wheeler was reportedly stolen at Courtney’s ranch.

Harnage also was arrested about two weeks after the crime in Las Vegas, Nev., in possession of a dually pickup truck reportedly stolen at Cortney’s ranch.

At the time of the death of the Freestone county rancher, Doster and Harnage were escapees from a jail in Andalusia, Ala.

The two were returned to Alabama to face charges and were brought to Freestone county in 2007 when they were indicted on capital murder charges.

In the interim, Doster was convicted in Alabama on a capital murder charge and given the death penalty— in that case, he had escaped from jail and committed a murder.

Since being brought back to Texas, Harnage has been jailed in Anderson county and Doster in Limestone county.

During the court date in late March, Doster went against the advice of his court-appointed attorneys in requesting that a trial date be set as soon as possible. His attorneys are working to get the capital murder charge dismissed because, they claim, their client has not been brought to trial in a timely manner.

Judge Evans set July 19 to start jury selection, with trial proceeds to begin as soon as a jury is seated.

A panel of 350 prospective jurors is to be called in early July to report to the Fairfield Civic Center at W.L. Moody Reunion Grounds for selection. The civic center is being used because the district courtroom is not large enough to accommodate the jury panel.

As part of selection, prospective jurors will be required to complete a questionnaire of several pages being prepared by the judge.

Harnage had a hearing in 87th District Court in April when he requested, and was granted, a new court-appointed attorney.

Grounds for the request were that the defendant had not seen his attorney in 19 months.

Appointed to take the case was Palestine attorney Steve Evans (no relation to the judge).

Prosecuting the two capital murder cases is Wesley Mau of the Texas Attorney General’s office.

Mau indicated in April that he is negotiating a plea bargain with Harnage in exchange for his testimony