Change of venue requested in Interstate 80 rest stop trial

A Nebraska man accused of killing an I-80 maintenance worker last year can't get a fair trial in the small county because of media reports about his confession to the crime, his attorney told the court Friday.

Johnson County Chief Public Defender Peter Persaud asked for a change of venue for the first-degree murder trial of Peter Riggs, 32, of Columbus, Neb., citing several newspaper and online articles about Riggs admitting his guilt in letters he sent to the court and saying he wanted to plead guilty.

Riggs is accused of shooting and killing Jeffrey McAdam, 46, of Victor, on May 29 in the men's restroom at the I-80 Victor rest stop.

Sixth Judicial District Judge Nancy Baumgartner said she would take the motion, as well as two others argued Friday, under advisement and rule later.

Persaud said there have been several newspaper and online articles written about Riggs stating in letters he hated McAdam, his wishes to plead guilty and his confession to shooting him. Persaud argued several people commented in the online articles saying they believed he was guilty and other derogatory statements.

If a prospective juror hears that a person wants to plead guilty, they probably assume he is guilty, Persaud said.

Persaud also argued the jury pool may be drained because because of two other high profile cases in the county - the murder of Curtis Bailey in Marengo, and Amy Gephard in rural Marengo.

He suggested moving the trial to Sioux City because it's larger and out of this media market.

Assistant Attorney General Douglas Hammerand argued against the move, saying only one of the defendants in the Bailey murder, Jessica Dayton, had been prosecuted in the county. One of the co-defendants were tried in Scott County and the other one will also be tried this summer in Scott.

Hammerand said there hadn't been much publicity in the last six months about Riggs. It was mostly at the beginning. He also said there's no way of knowing if the jury pool is tainted by those articles because the comments Persaud mentioned could be from readers anywhere. There's no way to determine if the comments came from residents of Iowa County.

If a change of venue is granted, Hammerand suggested moving the trial out of this media market but not as far as Sioux City. It would be inconvenient for family members and witnesses to travel across the state.

Persaud also asked the court to suppress Riggs' statements made during a police interview, saying Riggs has mental deficiencies and didn't understand he didn't have to speak with police. He also asked the court to not allow the three letters Riggs wrote to the court admitting his guilt.

Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Darrell Simmons testified during the hearing that he understood Riggs was "slow" and took extra time and care going over the Miranda rights. He said Riggs told him he understood and answered his questions.