Nearly a year after he allegedly killed a man near the Monroe County line, a trial has been set for a Maryville man.
James David Gardner, Jr., 26, Calderwood Road, Maryville, was arrested in December 2008 after an anonymous informant told authorities Gardner and victim Timothy Willis Hughes, 45, had been seen together the day of the killing.

Gardner was indicted by a Monroe County grand jury in April after a mental evaluation declared he was competent to stand trial. Gardner is now scheduled to go to trial on Jan. 26.
Sheriff Bill Bivens said at the time of his arrest Gardner and Hughes had known each other for several years, but had not seen each other for a while when they met in a Blount County bar over the weekend.

"They were talking and Hughes needed a ride home," Bivens said. "Gardner offered to take him home and around 3-3:30 a.m. Sunday, the two got into a fight."
Gardner was taking Hughes to his mother's home on Old Highway 72 in Monroe County, outside of Vonore, when the two stopped beside the lake, not far from Hughes mother's house, to use the bathroom.

"They got into a fight then," Bivens said. "Gardner used a baseball bat to strike Hughes several times in the head, killing him."
Detective Doug Brannon said theft could have been the reason the two men started to fight.
The baseball bat Gardner allegedly used was found on Trigonia Road. Bivens said Gardner told them where the bat was located.

A newspaper carrier found Hughes around 8 a.m. on Dec. 7. He was wearing only a pull over shirt and blue jeans. It is estimated he was there for four to five hours before being discovered. Old Highway 72 dead-ends not far from where Hughes was left, and is not heavily traveled. It's located close to the Blount County/Monroe County line.

Gardner has been in jail since the alleged killing on a $1 million bond.

michael.thomason@advocateanddemocrat.com | 442-4575