Daylon Delon Gamble was back in court for a status hearing on September 7 as the foundations of the death penalty case against him is being laid with studious care to follow each step toward a trial that could still be a while away.

It has been since January 2019 when Gamble was captured in Indianapolis, Indiana after being on the run for three days, accused of a double homicide in Rockmart and the serious injury of a fifth victim in a shooting that rocked the community and remains an open wound for the loved ones who died that night.

Those family members of Gamble’s victims sat together in court once again on Thursday, September 7 for the latest status hearing and for the defense to have an opportunity to be heard on several motions they previously filed before the court in May 2022.

Gamble was brought into sit in on the latest hearing date leading up to an evidentiary hearing set for October 2.

Those had been previously decided upon by Judge Mark Murphy in the process of updating the case after he took over the death penalty proceedings and held a status hearing to ensure that every i was being dotted and t crossed in the matter after it has dragged on through COVID-19 shutdowns and changes in the defense team from Georgia’s Capitol Defenders office.

Like the January hearing, Judge Murphy wanted to ensure that the Unified Appeals Procedure (UAP) established for death penalty cases remained the center focus, so previous motions that were considered “boilerplate” by the prosecution were ruled upon, but at the end of many requested in-person hearings to make arguments before a judge.

These included requests to ensure that the prosecution were following discovery procedures without fail, even if evidence that would be perceived by a jury to go against the state’s case against Gamble would be turned over to the defense.

At least one of the issues raised Browning told the court he didn’t respond to in writing because he was missing exhibits. He did make it clear in court to Capital Defender’s office attorneys who are the latest to work on the case that he would follow the procedures laid out for discovery and other issues brought before the court over the past two dozen-plus motions filed since last year.

Court proceedings ended on Thursday afternoon without any further indication of a trial date, but that should become more evident when court convenes for an evidentiary hearing on October 2.

The defense requested and will be granted permission for Gamble to appear in court in street clothes instead of in jail standard issue. He’ll be back in court for the October appearance.

Gamble is alleged to have shot and killed his aunt Helen Rose Mitchell, 48, a cousin, Jaequnn Davis, 19, and two others, 24-year-old Arkeyla Perry and 26-year-old Dadrian Cummings. He also is accused of shooting and injuring Peerless Brown during the spree that began on Williamson Street in Rockmart, and ended when he ran from the scene on Rome Street.

Following the shooting in January 2019, Gamble fled the state was found three days later in Indianapolis and brought back to Georgia. He remains in custody without bond awaiting a trial date, now in its fourth year since the double homicide took place.

The latest hearing in the case brings the case one step closer to trial, but it will still be some time before all of the motions and hearings are cleared up and likely 2024 before he faces a jury.

If the proceedings make it that far. The last death penalty case in Polk County ended with pleas from both defendants and life sentences imposed for the shooting death of Polk County Police Detective Kristen Hearne.

For now, the families of Mitchell, Davis, Perry and Cummings will continue to watch and wait from the benches of the courtroom until the case comes to a conclusion.