Court Digest

Ohio
Prosecutor opposes officer’s motion to move Andre Hill trial
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state attorney prosecuting the December police killing of Andre Hill opposed the former officer’s request for the trial to be moved.

Assistant Attorney General Anthony Pierson filed a motion Wednesday opposing ex-Columbus officer Adam Coy’s request for the trial be moved to another county in order to convene a fair and impartial jury.

Defense attorney Mark Collins argued in a court filing last month that extensive publicity — including news coverage, posts on social media and billboards around Columbus — about the killing of Hill, a Black man, will make it impossible to convene a fair jury in Franklin County.

But Pierson, who was appointed special prosecutor by Attorney General Dave Yost, said the change of location “would unnecessarily consume resources and time.”

He added that while the state opposes the trial being moved, it will not object to modifying the jury selection process to ensure impartiality.

Hill, 47, was fatally shot by Coy, who is white, on Dec. 22 as Hill emerged from a garage holding up a cellphone.

In the moments after he was shot, additional bodycam footage shows two other Columbus officers rolled Hill over and put handcuffs on him before leaving him alone again. None of them, according to the footage released, offered any first aid even though Hill was barely moving, groaning and bleeding while laying on the garage floor.

Coy was fired less than a week later for failing to activate his body camera and for not providing medical aid to Hill. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide charges. His trial is currently scheduled for July 21.

His indictment by a Franklin County grand jury came just days after Columbus Police Chief Thomas Quinlan was forced out after Mayor Andrew Ginther said he lost confidence in his ability to make the necessary department changes.

In May, the city reached a $10 million settlement with the family of Hill, the largest in Columbus history.

In addition to the state’s criminal case, Columbus police, the U.S. attorney general for central Ohio and the FBI are conducting their own investigation into the shooting.

Kansas
Hays man charged with murder in wife’s 2019 shooting death
HAYS, Kan. (AP) — A west-central Kanas man has been arrested on a warrant charging him with murder in the 2019 shooting death of his wife.

Colby Alan Trickle, 27, was arrested Thursday after charges were filed by prosecutors against him on Wednesday, the The Hays Daily News reported. Prosecutors say he shot Kristen Trickle, 26, in the head with a .357 Magnum revolver in a premeditated killing on Oct. 31, 2019.

Colby Trickle is also charged with interference with law enforcement. That charge stems from the accusation that he gave false information to police on the day of the shooting and again on Nov. 4, 2019, officials said.

New Mexico
Judge sentences couple to prison in guardianship fraud case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Albuquerque married couple who pleaded guilty in 2019 but then failed to appear for sentencing in an $11 million fraud case involving a firm that provided guardianship and other services to people with special needs now face years in prison.

A federal judge on Thursday sentenced Susan K. Harris to 47 years in prison and William S. Harris to 15 years and also ordered them to pay restitution to victims.

Susan Harris, 74, was president of Ayudando Guardians Inc. and William Harris, 60, worked as a guardian.

U.S. District Judge Martha Vazquez said the couple’s criminal conduct left many former clients destitute and homeless.

Susan Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. William Harris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit money laundering.

Both were originally scheduled to be sentenced in March 2020 but they fled New Mexico and were arrested in April 2020 in Oklahoma.

Kanasas
Wichita settles lawsuit over police shooting of Black man
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a Black man shot in the back by a white Wichita police officer in 2012 has reached a $900,000 settlement with the city.

The settlement comes just weeks before a lawsuit filed by the parents of 23-year-old Marquez Smart was set for a jury trial in federal court, the Wichita Eagle reported. Brenda and Randall Smart alleged in their lawsuit that police officers used excessive force.

The U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit in Denver  found last year that a reasonable jury could conclude that by the time the final police shots were fired, Smart was on the ground with his arms stretched out. The decision reversed a 2018 ruling that had dismissed the suit on the grounds that the officers couldn’t be sued.

No criminal charges have been filed against the officers.

“The fact is no amount of money can ever address the tragic pain and trauma caused by his death,” said attorney Ben Stelter-Embry, who represents the parents.