Madison man to stand trial this month in capital murder case

MADISON – More than six years after a neighborhood dispute in East Limestone ended in a fatal shooting, a Madison man is scheduled to stand trial Nov. 16 on a capital murder charge in the death of his neighbor.

Travis L. Stanley, 48, of Madison, was indicted in December 2020 on a capital murder charge in the May 11, 2020, shooting death of Joey Sutton, 33. The charge alleges Sutton was killed in the presence of his 12-year-old son.

With the trial approaching, Stanley’s attorneys and prosecutors are disputing the admissibility of a 39-second video of the confrontation, with the defense questioning whether the recording is complete.

Prosecutors also asked Circuit Judge Chad Wise on Thursday to quash a defense subpoena seeking testimony from Assistant District Attorney Jeff Roberts, who is prosecuting the case. Wise has not ruled on either motion.

According to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, Stanley and Sutton, neighbors on Mill Valley Drive near Capshaw Road, had been involved in an ongoing dispute. Investigators said Stanley had threatened Sutton’s son over the boy riding his bicycle on the road.

Sutton went to Stanley’s residence, where a verbal confrontation escalated into a physical altercation outside the house before Stanley allegedly shot Sutton, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said Sutton was unarmed.

Deputies responding around 6 p.m. found Sutton dead in Stanley’s driveway. Limestone County Coroner Mike West said Sutton had been shot multiple times. A criminal complaint identified the weapon as a Kel-Tec 9mm pistol.

In an Oct. 13 motion to suppress or exclude evidence, Stanley’s attorneys, Robin Wolfe and E. Patrick Hill, challenged the completeness and handling of the video recorded by Sutton’s widow.

The defense said the recording begins after Sutton and his family arrived at Stanley’s residence and ends shortly after shots were fired. Attorneys contend that witnesses observed Sutton, his wife and their son approaching the residence while filming and making comments, but that portion of the encounter is absent from the recording.

According to the defense motion, one witness allegedly heard Sutton threated Stanley near Stanley’s mailbox.

The defense argues that the alleged threat and any accompanying video could be relevant to determining who initiated the confrontation and evaluating Stanley’s claim of self-defense.

Stanley’s attorneys acknowledged that the absence of the earlier confrontation from the recording does not establish that footage was deleted or altered.

“The approach might have been separately recorded, recording might have stopped and restarted, or a longer recording might have been shortened,” the defense motion states.

Stanley’s attorneys requested access to the original recording, any additional videos and digital information that could help determine whether the recording is complete. They also sought an independent expert examination and testimony from witnesses and investigators.

The defense asked Wise to exclude the recording if prosecutors cannot establish its authenticity or if other grounds for exclusion are established. Alternatively, attorneys requested additional evidence and, if necessary, a continuance.

In a response filed last Monday, prosecutors disputed claims that witnesses could establish that Sutton’s widow began recording before the video provided to the defense begins.

Prosecutors said the widow maintained she did not begin recording until the point shown in the video. They argued that any disagreement over her account should be decided by a jury. They also argued that Stanley’s attorneys had years to obtain an independent analysis but had not done so.

Stanley’s attorneys argue that evidence of Sutton’s alleged threat could help establish whether he was the initial aggressor. Prosecutors disagreed.

“Even if the ‘reported’ threats were actually made, none of them rise to the level that would allow the use of deadly force in self-defense and are therefore irrelevant,” prosecutors wrote.

In a separate motion filed Thursday, Roberts asked Wise to quash a defense subpoena requiring him to testify or order the defense to specify what information it seeks.

A search of Stanley’s residence following the shooting also led to drug charges against Stanley and his wife, Christina Stanley.

Both were indicted in December 2020 on charges of trafficking in synthetic drugs, first-degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after investigators reported finding marijuana and kratom.

The charges against Christina Stanley, 41, remain pending in Limestone County Circuit Court, according to court records.

Travis Stanley remains held without bond on the capital murder charge, according to Limestone County Jail records.