Published: August 10, 2007 09:34 pm      

Third man charged in shooting of Clarksville man

Mother says man in custody was childhood friend of her son’s

The mother of a local shooting and robbery victim said Friday morning that one of the three accused in the crime was her son’s childhood friend and was aware he was carrying a large sum of money.

Shelly Gray — the mother of 19-year-old Joe Stover, who was shot four times during a robbery July 29 — said at a press conference held outside University Hospital in Louisville on Friday morning that Russell Louis Embry Jr., 19, was with Stover two days before the robbery when he was given $1,000 from his father. Stover was to use the cash — along with money he’d earned from a summer job — to buy a television and a laptop computer for college, Gray said.

Embry was arrested Aug. 2 and charged with attempted robbery a a Class A felony and battery as a Class C felony. Two others men — 22-year-old Cleveland D. Williams III and 25-year-old Corey Lee “Tink” Thornton — also have been charged in the shooting, but still remain at-large. They, too, have been charged with attempted robbery and battery.

Clark County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bill Grimes said he filed the additional charges against Thornton on Wednesday after Stover identified him as the shooter from a picture line-up prepared by detectives with the Clarksville Police Department. The charges against Williams also were filed Aug. 2

When asked Friday afternoon why Thornton wasn’t charged with attempted murder, Grimes said: “It’s going to be easier to convict him of robbery than of attempted murder.”

The attempted robbery charge as a Class A felony carries with it a maximum of 50 years in prison, Grimes said. Attempted murder, also as an Class A felony, allows for the same sentence.

Grimes said neither he or the Clarksville Police Department had been in contact with Thornton or Williams, but they believed both to still be in the Louisville Metro area. Embry is being held on a $100,000 cash-only bond. His trial has tentatively been scheduled for October.

Police say the three robbed Stover in a car outside Cambridge Apartments on Camden Court in Clarksville, however, the details surrounding the incident have been sketchy at best.

Police later found on the floorboard of the car Stover was driving $1,000 in cash and two “bluish-green” tablets, court records say. However, Stover’s mother has remained adamant that her son is not a drug user.

Gray said her son “was in good spirits” and is now able to communicate slightly with visitors.

“People are lined up down the halls,” she said of the amount of friends coming to see Stover. “They’re out there until 2 and 3 in the morning.”

Stover sustained four bullet wounds to his chest and stomach and is being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit. He has undergone at least six surgeries, Gray said, and will likely require many more.

“He’s got a long road ahead of him,” she said, adding that he was focused on returning to school, possibly in January.

Stover is a 2006 graduate of Clarksville High School where he was a standout basketball player. He is now a freshman and member of the basketball team at Eastern Wyoming College in Torrington, Wyo.

Gray said Stover and Embry were childhood friends and that Embry had attended Stover’s sister’s 21st birthday party just days before the shooting and robbery.

“He was a good boy,” she said, obviously confused. “It’s just awful.”

Tears streamed down Stover’s younger brother’s face as he spoke of his “role model” Friday morning.

“I just love him so much,” said 16-year-old Zack Tutt. “Everyday, I want to wake up from this dream.”

Stover’s stepbrother, 19-year-old Antonio Ballard, also had a message for Williams and Thornton.

“Turn yourselves in,” he said defiantly. “If you’re big enough to do it, then you’re big enough to pay the consequences.”