A Colorado Springs man accused across different cases of murder, wrestling a gun away from a detective before escaping custody, and attempting to murder peace officers is expected to see his murder trial delayed three months due to the ongoing suspension of jury trials, a judge said in a Tuesday afternoon hearing.

Randy Bishop, 37, was scheduled to go to trial for murder Feb. 7, and attorneys announced at a Jan. 18 pre-trial hearing they were ready to go to trial. He’s accused of murder in the November 2019 slaying of Thomas Anthony Faircloth.

That hearing, however, was continued due to attorneys’ and Fourth Judicial District Judge Marcus Henson’s concerns over the suspension of jury trials, at the time saying they would come back to reassess at a date closer to the beginning of trial.

The judicial district’s Chief Judge William Bain in a Jan. 27 order extended the suspension through Feb. 11 due to elevated case rates in El Paso and Teller counties, prompting Henson on Tuesday to suggest the trial begin Feb. 14.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys, however, had schedules that conflicted with that proposed date, including defense attorney Josh Tolini’s participation on the Letecia Stauch case, expected to begin March 28 and to last roughly six weeks. Neither party objected to a declaration of a mistrial due to scheduling conflicts.

Henson said the earliest he could declare a mistrial was Feb. 7. He said the court would reconvene then on that matter, when he could set a firm date for trial, but told all parties to plan to begin in early May.

“At this point I’m anticipating this case to go to trial on [May 9],” he said after apologizing to Faircloth’s family, who appeared via Webex, adding the delay was “wholly out of the control of anybody in the courtroom” and a matter of safety for potential jurors.

Bishop’s other cases, including the case in which he’s accused of wrestling a gun away from a detective and another in which he’s accused of shooting at police officers, were previously set to trail his alleged first-degree murder case, which involves the most serious charge. He pleaded not guilty to murder in August.

Faircloth, 27, was found Nov. 2, 2019 in a vacant lot at Galley Road and Powers Boulevard with “suspicious injuries.” Further details on the case haven’t been released, including how police tied Bishop to the crime, with the probable cause affidavit sealed.

During a November 2019 chase, police rammed Bishop’s car and he was taken to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central downtown. Police say he escaped from a CT scan room and stole a detective’s gun in a hallway struggle, during which two shots were fired inside the hospital. No injuries were reported.

Police said Bishop stole a car at the hospital and fled. They caught up with him again Jan. 11, 2020, but he dodged arrest again after firing at officers, wounding one. He was captured Jan. 26, and charged in jail with first-degree murder in April 2020.

Bain’s orders extending the suspension of jury trials have come in roughly 10-day increments. In the Jan. 27 order, he cited state health department data reflecting two-week incidence rates per 100,000 people for El Paso County over 2,700 cases and over 2,000 in Teller County, but noted that local public health department data graphs “also show for the first time that a rapid decline in incidence rates has begun over the last week.”

State data currently show that Teller County’s incidence rate has dropped to nearly 1,554, and that El Paso County’s rate has dropped to around 2,244.

Bain in January said the extended suspension of jury trials will contribute to a backlog caused by previous pandemic trial suspensions the judicial district had slowly whittled down from as many as 5,000. Bishop’s expected mistrial, if declared, could add to that number of delayed trials.

Randy Bishop, 37.

Mug shot courtesy of the Colorado Springs Police Department