Judge sets aside four days in Knupp hit-and-run case

By Hunter Hine

Tyler Mailloux, the 22-year-old resident of Berlin who has been charged as the driver in the hit-and-run death of Gavin Knupp of Ocean Pines, will face a trial before a circuit court jury in September.

The court on May 17 set aside four days in the second week of September — Sept. 11-14 — for the trial, which will be preceded by a motion hearing on Aug. 16 in the courtroom of  Judge Brian Shockley. Judge Brett W. Wilson of Dorchester County Circuit Court is scheduled to oversee the first three days of the trial, and Shockley is scheduled to cover the final day.

Worcester County State’s Attorney Kristin Heiser filed 17 charges against Mailloux in circuit court on April 28, about 10 months after the incident that killed 14-year-old Gavin Knupp on Grays Corner Road last July. Four of the 17 charges are felonies, two of which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. All the charges are related to Mailloux’s alleged failures to stop at the scene or report it later.

The list includes charges such as failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in bodily injury or death, and failure to report an accident that involved bodily injury or death within 15 days of the incident happening.

On May 1, a summons was filed for Mailloux’s initial appearance in court, set for May 31. If Mailloux’s attorney enters an appearance on his behalf before the court date, then the initial appearance will be canceled, Heiser said.