The trial of a Lincoln County man accused of capital murder inthe January 2004 death of convenience store owner John Deere hasbeen postponed and the suspect was released from custody Monday,authorities said.

Laurie Chassion, court administrator for 14th District CircuitCourt Judge Mike Taylor, said a new trial date for Kenneth BaggettJr., of 2471 Lake Lincoln Dr., has not been set.

Baggett has pleaded innocent in the killing that occurred atDeere’s Airport Pik and Pak convenience store on Old Highway 51more than two years ago.

The suspect was released from the Lincoln County Jail Monday,said Jailer Becky Howell. Baggett, who was in jail under a $750,000bond, had been incarcerated since June 2004.

Taylor reduced Baggett’s cash bond to a $100,000 general bondMonday as part of an agreement between attorneys representing thestate and the suspect, Chassion said. The attorneys also requestedBaggett’s trial, which was scheduled for next Monday, bepostponed.

“They requested a continuance on some discovery matters,”Chassion said.

Discovery is the term used to describe the process attorneys usein disclosing information to the other side.

A status hearing was scheduled for Oct. 9 for Taylor to rule onany further motions and to set a trial date, Chassion said.

“Between now and Oct. 9, we will be looking at alternative trialdates,” she said.

Authorities believe Deere, 55, was shot between 4:30 and 4:45a.m. shortly after he arrived to start the business day. He wasfound in the store parking lot around 5 a.m. after officersresponded to an anonymous 911 call. Deere had been shot threetimes, twice in the back and once in the neck.

A cash box that was taken in the incident was later recoveredalong Interstate 55.