MARIETTA – The man who will go to trial for a second time in February for a 1981 murder will remain in jail through the holidays after a judge denied his motion for a bond reduction in Washington County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.

The murder case against Mitchell Ruble, accused of killing Washington County Sheriff’s Lt. Ray “Joe” Clark in 1981, resulted in a mistrial in October after a jury came back unable to reach a verdict.

Ruble’s defense team called for a hearing Thursday morning to have Ruble’s bond reduced to a personal recognizance bond, along with house arrest specifications, while Ruble awaits a re-trying of the case in February.

By the end of the day Thursday, Common Pleas Judge Randall Burnworth denied the motion, and upheld Ruble’s current $2.5 million bond, which has been in place for more than a year.

There is no confirmation yet as to whether or when his defense will try to have the bond reduced again.

“The court should be considerate of whether there should even be bail,” said Ohio Attorney General Special Prosecutor Joel King. “This is the third time we’ve re-visited the bond issue, and we strongly ask that it remain.”

King argued in court Thursday that the murder charge would have been a capital offense if it had occurred at a different point in time, meaning that bail wouldn’t have been on the table in the first place.

Defense attorneys James Burdon and Lawrence Whitney argued several points for the reduction of Ruble’s bail, and proposed a plan to ensure that Ruble remained compliant until the new trial begins in just more than two months.

“We found a company that does home confinement, which his family would of course pay for,” Burdon said. “All of the members of his family have agreed to sign to confirm that he will continue to stay here.”

Burdon said there are a number of reasons why Ruble should be allowed to be on a personal recognizance bond, including the fact that Ruble and his wife, Sandy, have lived in the same house in Lowell for more than 30 years.

“Even though he knew he was a suspect back then…he stayed here and continued to live here, and he even voluntarily came down to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office for questioning,” he said.

Burdon argued that Ruble and his whole family have maintained residence in the area all these years, and that during that entire time Ruble has never built any kind of criminal record.

“It is public knowledge that the (jury) vote was 6-6, and this is about whether or not the evidence even justifies this bond anymore,” Burdon said.

Burdon also argued that Ruble’s wife suffers from multiple sclerosis, and was under Ruble’s round-the-clock care before he was arrested.

“She’s in constant need of care…and it would be beneficial if he was there,” he said.

Burnworth would not offer an explanation of his reasoning for denying a reduction of the bond. He stated in his filing that “in consideration of the arguments, the present establishment of bond is appropriate at this time.”

Ruble’s defense presented another motion for a number of firearms and paraphernalia that were taken by the sheriff’s office after his September 2014 arrest to be returned to Ruble’s sons, which Burnworth granted.

The new trial will be held again in Burnworth’s court and is scheduled to begin Feb. 29.