Wyatt Duchette's grandmother criticizes justice system

It's been said the wheels of justice turn slowly. But for Wyatt Duchette's grandmother, the wheels of justice are turning too slowly. Dawn Alberts, Duchette's grandmother, voiced her frustration Wednesday over the slow pace of the criminal proceedings. "I like to call it Barney Fife county," said Dawn Alberts of Huron County. "That's what I'm feeling like right now." Barney Fife was a character in the television show The Andy Griffith Show. Calling a police officer or other authority figure "Barney Fife" has become an American slang term for gross ineptitude or overzealousness, according to Wikipedia. The court case against Duchette's mother, Dakota Rae Jones, was scheduled for a pretrial Wednesday afternoon, but that pretrial has been canceled. "This was the eighth pretrial," Alberts said. "I'm not happy about how many pretrials we've had." Alberts also said the family just wants justice. "We want this over with," Alberts said. "It's been 14 months. We're tired of this and every time there's a court case we have to relive this." A spokesperson at Huron County Common Pleas Court said the pretrial hearing hasn't been rescheduled as of yet. "We're waiting to get all of the calendars together," the spokesperson said. Huron County Prosecutor James Joel Sitterly could not be reached for comment. Duchette was killed in a house fire on June 7, 2023, at 117 E. Main St. His step-brother, Paxton Burke, was also injured in the blaze. Jones is charged with five counts of endangering children and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Authorities say a pipe containing methamphetamines was found at the house at the time of the fire. Typically, about two dozen or so relatives and their supporters go to each of the court proceedings against Jones. Some of them wear t-shirts that say "Justice for Wyatt" on the front and "Hot pipes take lives" on the back. "We want the county judges, prosecutors, and Dept. of Job & Family Services, CPS to know we are all watching," supporters said prior to a peaceful protest at the Huron County Courthouse earlier this year.