Judge Alonzo Harris has set, for the third time, a hearing on Mark Savoy’s motion to have his kidnapping trial moved from St. Landry Parish.

Savoy is accused of kidnapping his then-estranged wife and two children in Eunice in December 2006 and leading police on a chase that ended when he jumped from an Atchafalaya Basin bridge, eluding officers.

He avoided capture until January 2007 when he was arrested and charged with three counts of simple kidnapping and one count of domestic abuse battery.

A hearing on his motion to change venue is now set for March 19. It was first set for hearing on Jan. 22, then postponed until Feb. 19, then, when the state objected to hearing the motion that day, set of the March date.

Savoy has been out of jail under bond since November 2007.

In February 2008 he filed a federal suit accusing Eunice and St. Landry officials of violating his rights after his arrest.

That suit claims several unidentified Eunice officers beat Savoy in the city jail, then failed to get him treatment for injuries. Savoy alleges further mistreatment happened after he was moved to the parish jail.

His pleading represents only his version of the events. Police have denied he was abused or mistreated.

Savoy’s attorney, Roy J. Richard, Jr. of Lake Charles claims pre-trial publicity has prejudiced the public’s mind against his client and makes a fair and impartial trial in the parish impossible.

He says the media and the district attorney’s office have fueled the prejudicial publicity.

“The defendant has been linked from the beginning with the nickname of ‘Bridgejumper’ and/or ‘Jumper’ in every instance,” the venue motion claims.

It asserts that the “largely rural” parish lives in “general fear of alleged high-speed chases and allegations of multiple kidnappings.”