A judge determines that a Coffeyville man will stand trial for a 2022 homicide.
At a preliminary hearing in Independence on Wednesday, Judge Jeffery Gossard found that enough probable cause existed for David Alan Jackson of Coffeyville to be tried for the May 14, 2022, murder of Melvin Simpson Jr. Gossard also denied Jackson's motion that the case be dismissed due to self-defense. Jackson claimed through interviews with law enforcement that he and Simpson had met in Jackson's apartment at 1301 west 7th street in Coffeyville in 2022 to trade rare coins and baseball cards when a disagreement turned violent, with both men brandishing weapons. Simpson's body was discovered two days later after law enforcement officers received a tip. According to his request, Jackson served as his own attorney at Wednesday's hearing, with help from court-appointed attorney Heath Lampson, who aided Jackson in the types of questions allowed during the hearing. The criminal trial will likely be held in early 2024. Jackson has been incarcerated in the Montgomery County Jail since his arrest in 2022.
