Ivanchev trial postponed to January; defense says St. Mary's City man had head injury prior to crash

His trial was postponed previously from February, May and September.

Circuit Court Judge Joseph M. Stanalonis granted a motion by Ivanchev’s attorney Lauren Kollecas on Nov. 22 to allow remote testimony from two South Florida doctors, a radiologist and a neurologist.

Kollecas, a Laurel attorney, also requested bail review for Ivanchev, who has been in and out of jail and was re-incarcerated following an incident last March when he was driving a tractor on a gravel road near his St. Mary’s City home.

Kollecas said Ivanchev was getting firewood and was surprised by his arrest, noting he thought that a prohibition on driving pertained to an automobile on a public road. He was driving less than 10 mph, she said, and had his 2-year-old son with him.

Kollecas said Ivanchev missed doctor’s appointments due to being jailed again, which delayed the trial. In addition, it impedes the defense because she has to travel 2 hours to visit him in the St. Mary’s County jail.

Ivanchev’s family in Bulgaria is assisting him and his wife financially so they don’t lose their home, Kollecas said. However, this has been “extremely burdensome” on them.

Noting that Ivanchev’s passport was confiscated, Kollecas said her client has given corrections officers no problems in jail. She said he isn’t a flight risk and added that his continued incarceration is punitive.

Stanalonis has yet to act on that motion.

In a recent filing, Kollecas said Ivanchev suffered a head injury in the days leading up to the July 2021 crash. The head injury likely was the cause of the crash, she said.

Kollecas said she has objective radiologic evidence to substantiate that Ivanchev suffered a head injury prior to the crash, evidenced by CT scans taken at the hospital following the crash.

In addition, she said a neurologist confirmed the radiologist’s opinion. “His report demonstrates how this injury affected defendant’s neurological faculties leading up to” the crash, the lawyer said.

According to police, Ivanchev was driving a 2008 Subaru Outback that ran a red light and struck a 2005 Ford Escape on Three Notch Road at the intersection with Golden Beach Road. The Escape was engulfed in flames when officers arrived.

The two occupants of the Escape, Shawn Douglas Bailey, 27, and Melody Ann Russell, 29, were pronounced dead at the scene.

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