STAFF REPORTS
newsroom@newsandtribune.com
January 13, 2009 01:49 pm
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A 22-year-old Sellersburg woman escaped injury following an attempted carjacking Friday night in the Target parking lot, 2209 State St. in New Albany, according to a press release from New Albany Police Department Capt. Keith Whitlow.
The incident occurred at 9 p.m. The woman told police a man wearing a ski mask forced his way into her car as she was preparing to leave the store’s parking lot. She said he threatened her with harm if she did not remain quiet. When the woman attracted the attention of customers in the parking lot, the man fled from the vehicle. Another man nearby gave chase, according to the release.
After gathering information from the woman and witnesses, Miguel Huerta-Bacilio, 20, of Clarksville, was spotted on foot in nearby Valley View Court Housing Development and taken into custody. He is being held in the Floyd County Jail on a preliminary charge of alleged robbery, a class C felony. The investigation is continuing.
On Dec. 13, a 29-year-old New Albany woman was allegedly attacked by three males and robbed of her Hummer in the 900 block of Falcon Road near Silver Hills. The woman was allegedly confronted by at least three men — one of whom was armed with a gun — after the group followed her home from the same Target store.
The woman claimed she was attacked after exiting her sport utility vehicle, and that she fought with the men and sustained minor cuts to her hands in the process. A 16-year-old was later arrested and the woman’s Hummer was located in a neighborhood off Taylor Boulevard in Louisville.
— Region Editor Chris Morris
Man shot attempting to rob The Keg
A man is at University Hospital in Louisville recovering from a gunshot wound following an attempted robbery at The Keg Liquors, 617 E. Lewis and Clark Parkway, in Clarksville, according to a press release from the Clarksville Police Department.
James Allen Thomas allegedly entered the business at about 10:30 Friday night dressed in a dark hooded sweatshirt and wearing a Halloween mask similar to the one used in the movie “Scream.”
He approached the store clerk and allegedly displayed a large knife and demanded money. The clerk pushed the suspect back while a second clerk pulled a .32 caliber pistol and fired once at Thomas as he fled the store.
When police arrived, the clerk stated that he thought he had shot Thomas in the back. However, Thomas had left the area.
Around 11:40 p.m. Friday, a suspect matching Thomas’ description entered University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back. He allegedly had given a false name to hospital employees when he was admitted.
The hospital notified the Clarksville Police Department, which had alerted area hospitals about a man who may be seeking treatment for a gunshot wound.
Thomas, 26, resides at 1803 Maxine Court in Clarksville. He also is wanted in Florida on a felony warrant for assisting a fugitive to escape, a police report says.
Thomas is still at University Hospital where doctors were able to remove the bullet from his back. He is being held on the fugitive warrant by Kentucky and charges from Clarksville will be forthcoming.
— Region Editor Chris Morris
Attorney seeks continuance in Parrish trial
The attorney for alleged “road-rage” shooter Yalanda Parrish, 39, of Jeffersonville, requested Monday that the jury trial be continued until April 14.
Following Monday’s pretrial conference, attorney Brian Butler said he is still seeking transcripts of grand jury interviews and wants time to explore any possibility of resolving the case before it goes to trial.
Until a new date is set in Clark Circuit Court, trial is scheduled for Feb. 10. Butler also requested a final pretrial conference in late March.
Butler said his client maintains she was acting in self defense when she shot Wesley Mosier, 52, of Corydon, after he got off his motorcycle and approached her sport utility vehicle at a stoplight on the corner of 10th Street and Allison Lane in Jeffersonville.
“She has said all along that she had to do what she did,” Butler said. “She remains consistent with that today.”
Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart said no offer for a plea agreement has been made. Stewart said he anticipates the case will go to trial, but would not oppose a plea deal if Mosier consents.
“If he would direct me to go down a certain path, I’d go down it with him if I felt that justice would be served by that type of agreement,” he said.
Stewart said he has several meetings planned with Mosier between now and the trial. One of the topics they will be discussing is whether to offer a plea.
— Staff Writer Matt Thacker
Man facing many charges released
A New Albany man with 25 pending charges in Floyd County has been released from jail after a family member posted bond, according to court records.
Nicholis (Nicholas) Cozart was arrested Jan. 2 and charged with six felonies and two misdemeanors, including class B felony dealing in methamphetamine and class C felony neglect of a dependent.
Judge Richard Striegel — who is filling in for Judge Susan Orth while she recovers from surgery — set bond at $100,000 court-cash or surety, meaning Cozart would have to pay $10,000 to be released.
Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson said he opposes setting bond in a case like this, where the defendant has so many arrests and charges. Some of the charges date back to 2005, and Henderson said attorney continuances and delays make it difficult to prosecute cases.
“It’s a constant challenge to keep these cases moving,” Henderson said. “I don’t think it’s justice either for the victim or suspect for charges to accumulate the way these do sometimes.”
Sherri Pool, 26, also was arrested at the residence on charges of possession of methamphetamine, neglect of a dependent and maintaining a common nuisance. She also has been released from jail.
Cozart’s 12-year-old daughter and Pool’s 7-year-old son were in the residence at the time of the arrest, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
Police officers said many of the items found in the home are commonly used to manufacture meth, the affidavit states. Cozart told police the items found there belonged to him, but he denied manufacturing meth. While police listed manufacturing as a charge, the prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him with that.
Cozart’s attorney, Bill Allen, did not return a message seeking comment. Cozart’s next pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22.
— Staff Writer Matt Thacker
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