An Illinois man got an indefinite delay in his murder trial after what a prosecutor called a suspicious, “11th hour” request for a new defense attorney.

David B. “Crispy” Hall, 34, of Calumet City was set to stand trial starting Nov. 30 before Kenosha County Circuit Judge Wilbur W. Warren III. An estimated 144 witnesses were expected to testify over two weeks about the death of Kenya L. “Cherokee” McEwen, 27, of Kenosha.

That changed Wednesday when defense attorney Terry Rose asked to withdraw from the case, a move District Attorney Robert Zapf decried as “strategic” and “suspect” in light of the upcoming trial.

“It’s not strategic,” Rose said.

Rather, he explained, the request was a matter of irreconcilable differences, which he could not explain without breaking attorney-client privilege.

Zapf challenged Warren to force Rose to explain in a meeting in the judge’s chambers.

However, Zapf could not offer any legal precedent for breaking the attorney-client privilege. Without that, Warren feared he could compromise Halls’ Constitutional rights by forcing Rose and Hall to talk.

The ruling was too much for Sheika Miner, sister of McEwen, who was shot in May 2008 at B&S Lounge, also known as Three Sisters Catering & Café, 5917 39th Ave.

Hall is charged with killing McEwen. He also is accused of masterminding a plan to kill witnesses in McEwen’s death investigation.

“You’re still going to jail for murder,” Miner shouted at Hall as she rose from her seat. “We’ve been going through this bulls--- for almost two years. I respected you Judge Warren!”

Detectives led Miner out of the courtroom. Warren paused as Miner’s shouts continued in an outside hallway.

“As I said, these matters are difficult,” he said.

Warren said he felt compelled to grant Rose’s request for Constitutional reasons and because no such request had been made before.

But Zapf warned against any delay, particularly in light of the witness murder-for-hire allegations.

“Maybe witnesses could disappear,” Zapf said.

After the hearing, Miner apologized for her outburst. Nearly 18 months of silent frustration just rushed out after she thought she saw Hall smile in court, she said.

“I just wanted to punch him in the face,” said Miner, 27, of Kenosha.

“We’ve been waiting patiently,” she added. “... We try not to talk to people or say too much because we don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the case.”

But, she said, “we feel like we’re in a battle that we’re not going to win. We don’t know what to do. (We’ve been) quiet so long. It’s like people walking over you. They can’t hear you. They can’t hear my brother.”