The 45-year Hutchinson man whose case was ordered back to District Court was not in court Friday morning for a pre-trial hearing. However, Douglas Plummer is expected to be brought back to Hutchinson in two weeks for another hearing.

District Judge Trish Rose did assign Wichita Attorney Alice Osburn to represent Plummer for future hearings.

Plummer was convicted of aggravated robbery and the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeals, that the case should come back to District Court for a second trial.

Plummer was arrested in what was thought to be a simple shoplifting case, but the state charged him with aggravated robbery and a Reno County jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to over 19-years in prison.

The Court of appeals last April agreed with the defendants argument that the court erred when they didn’t include a lesser included offense of “simple robbery” or “theft.” The Appeals Court ruled that a defendant is entitled to have a jury instruction on the law applicable to their theory or defense if there’s evidence to support that theory. The Supreme Court agreed.

As we have been telling you, Plummer was convicted after he went into Target in Hutchinson and attempted to steal merchandise, and when he attempted to leave was confronted by employees. He then allegedly battered at least one of those employees resulting in the charge being jumped from shoplifting to robbery. The alleged incident occurring at 1529 East 17th in Hutchinson back on March 24, 2008.

He allegedly battered an employee, Tony Schwauber as he attempted to stop him between the two sets of doors at the store, and it then moved outside where a number of employees were allegedly able to knock him down until police arrived.

While the state contended it was aggravated robbery, the defense contends it was shoplifting and that the Target employees over-reacted.

Plummer had served time in prison for robbery in a case going back to 1997 and was paroled back in 2003.

He’s also serving time for criminal deprivation of property, driving while suspended, and flee and elude convictions out of Saline County, and two counts of forgery and aggravated assault convictions out of Sedgwick County.