Monique Acevedo's public defender will ask for a continuance at this morning's pretrial hearing until the state attorney is finished charging her client, she said Wednesday.
Patricia Docherty on Wednesday said she does not want to proceed until State Attorney Dennis Ward charges Acevedo with using her school-district credit card to make personal purchases, which he has said could be this week.
"I'm still waiting to hear from him to see if they've finished filing charges, such as the alleged credit card [purchases]," Docherty said. "It makes absolutely no sense to depose one witness on one charge, then re-depose that same witness on another charge. It's going to be delayed until we know we're done with the charges."
Acevedo, the former Adult Education coordinator and class of 2012 sponsor, currently is charged with fraud and theft, accused of stealing at least $180,000 in cosmetology fees and $1,000 in ninth-grade fundraising money.
Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson said he was surprised Docherty had not filed any motions, such as asking to see the prosecutor's evidence and/or deposing the state's witnesses.
"Is Mark surprised he hasn't filed all the charges left?" Docherty laughed. "The investigation against my client started when?"
Docherty said she has all the court documents from the already-tried case against Acevedo's husband, suspended Schools Superintendent Randy Acevedo, and plans to depose witnesses on all the accusations, not just the two.
If convicted, Monique Acevedo faces 80 years in state prison, without the anticipated new charges.
Presiding over her trial, scheduled for Oct. 26, will be Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones. He is the same judge who sentenced Randy Acevedo to three years' probation, a $15,000 fine and eight hours a month of community service. A jury convicted him on three felony counts of official misconduct for trying to cover up his wife's alleged wrongdoing.
Today's hearing begins at 10 a.m. in the Freeman Justice Center, Courtroom B.
Monique Acevedo isn't expected to be at the hearing, Ward said.
jguerra@keysnews.com