Former State Police investigator Michael Proctor defied a subpoena to testify at a 2021 Milton murder hearing in Norfolk Superior Court on Monday morning, during which the former Karen Read-prosecutor Michael Lally took questions on the delays in certain evidence.

“Apparently, (Proctor) thinks he’s above the law,” said defense attorney Rosemary Scapiccio. “He was served in hand. He was told to be here this morning. Instead, his attorney showed up and said he left on vacation on Saturday.”

The evidentiary hearing comes about four years after defendant Myles King was accused of fatally shooting Marquis Simmons, 25, in Milton. King’s lawyers have moved to dismiss the case, claiming in part that required evidence was withheld from the defense.

Proctor, who was fired earlier in the year largely due to misconduct during the Karen Read case,  was the main case agent conducting interviews, making arrests and more during the investigation, Scappiccio said.

Scappiccio argued Proctor was “thumbing his nose at the court,” though the hearing was continued to Aug. 5. Proctor is available to appear in court at the continuation, his lawyer said Monday.

The court did hear from another player also key to the Karen Read case, Norfolk ADA Michael Lally. The prosecutor, who initially handled the case before it was taken over by another ADA in the office, was pressed on how he handled collecting and turning over evidence in the case.

The defense did not finish questioning Lally in the two-hour hearing Monday, but dug into why the prosecutor failed to receive six search warrants from Proctor and turn them over as evidence.

Scapiccio questioned Lally on what the DA’s office policy was when State Police don’t comply with orders to turn over evidence, called it “troubling” that the ADA did not indicate a clear policy or procedure to obtain or check for outstanding evidence.

“I think it’s troubling that you don’t seek supervisor’s help when it seems to be me that you don’t know where to go,” said Scapiccio. “I think it’s troubling when the case is getting closer and closer at trial, and you’re answering to the court that you’ve turned everything over when you know you don’t have it. I think those are all troubling aspects that need answers, and we intend on getting those answers.”

The defense said she is “concerned for every defendant out there as to whether or not they’re getting appropriate discovery through the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.”

“What we need to do is establish, is was the Karen Reed case a one off?” said Scapiccio. “And I would say it doesn’t appear to be, because here we are again with late discovery.”

Judge Peter Krupp ordered the defense and prosecutor Michael McGee to meet to go over any discrepancies in the evidence in preparation for the continuation of Monday’s hearing. The defense team said around 3,000 pages of evidence have been turned over since April — and are continuing to come.

King was a rare case of a first-degree murder defendant released on bail, a move taken due to the four year delay.

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“Everybody has a right to a speedy trial,” said Scapiccio. “And what they did in this case is they didn’t comply with their own obligations to produce evidence, and that caused the court to have to continue this case.”

A conference to review the status of the King case is scheduled for Friday at 2:45 p.m.