Craig arson trial delayed for mental evaluation
CRAIG COUNTY – Michael Osborne’s arson trial on a charge of burning an-almost-100-year-old church has been put on hold for another month.
Craig County Circuit Court Judge Malford “Bo” Trumbo granted a motion Monday asking for mental evaluation and a decision if Osborne is competent to stand trial on the charge of setting fire to New Hope Union Church in September.
Osborne, who will turn 25 in April, is charged with one count of arson in the fire that destroyed the church on Upper Craigs Creek Road during the night of Sept. 11.
His new trial date is set for Monday, Feb. 22, at 9:30 a.m.
He was scheduled to be tried Jan. 25. Osborne’s court-appointed attorney, Jeffrey Dorsey of Salem, asked for the trial to be rescheduled until Osborne could be evaluated “for competency to stand trial and sanity at the time of the offense,” according to the motion filed in court.
Osborne has been held without bond in the Botetourt-Craig County Regional Jail since his arrest two weeks after the fire.
