Court Date Delayed—Again—for Former Eagan High Coach Charged with Swindling

A September plea hearing for a former Eagan High School soccer and basketball coach accused of swindling has been moved to December. The continuance granted on Sept. 12 is the fifth so far.

Kurt Virgin has been accused of stealing over $29,000 from District 196. In May 2012, he was charged with six counts of theft by swindle. A single count of theft by swindle carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $10,000 in fines. 

The case has hit a number of snags along the way, however:

• Virgin's first appearance in court was continued, presumably because the date set by the court did not work for counsel. 

• In November 2012, Virgin's defense attorney asked the court to suppress all statements made by Virgin to investigators and all bank records derived from the search warrants, on the grounds that Virgin's fourth and 14th amendment rights had been violated.

• A plea hearing on March 1, 2013 was continued at the request of both  the defense and the prosecutor. The defense counsel would be out of town and the state had to do extra legwork to meet the challenge posed in November 2012. The hearing was rescheduled to April 25.

• Before the April 25 hearing, the state requested a continuance, on the grounds that more time was needed to complete the investigation. The hearing was moved to July 19. 

• On July 16, the court put off the upcoming hearing again, at the request of both sides. 

"The defense has attempted to have a third party provide information to show where the money went. Both defense and state expected that the third party would be able to provide more information than it was able to," the judge's order read. "Throughout the third party was legally required to consult with a fourth party, so it was not a quick process."

The hearing was rescheduled for Friday, Sept. 13. 

• On Sept. 12, both the defense and the state asked the court to push the Sept. 13 hearing off. According to the judge's order, the state had to interview five new witnesses, then interview them again at the request of the defense. As of Sept. 12, the prosecuting attorney had just received the information gathered during the interviews, and the defense had not had a chance to review it at all. 

The hearing is now set for Dec. 20.