COSBY SUSPECT GETS NEW LAWYERS : PUBLIC TO PAY BILL FOR DEFENSE CASE.Byline: Janet Gilmore Daily News Staff Writer Unable to afford his own legal team, a Ukrainian immigrant accused of killing Ennis Cosby Ennis William Cosby (April 15, 1969 – January 16, 1997) was the son of actor Bill Cosby and Camille Hanks. He had four sisters. Life Ennis's father Bill Cosby mined family life for much of his material, but kept the family itself quite private. was appointed two publicly paid attorneys Thursday. The court hearing came amid reports that police have four more witnesses: a man and a woman who say they were with Mikail Markhasev the night of Jan. 16, when Cosby was shot, and two men who say they helped him in an attempt to retrieve the gun. Markhasev, a Valley Village resident, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, but that was postponed until May 13 so his new attorneys could be appointed. Lawyers from the Public Defender's Office were not selected because of a potential conflict of clients' interest. They already are representing one of the two witnesses, a source close to the case said. One witness, 23-year-old Eli Zakaria of Huntington Beach Huntington Beach, city (1990 pop. 181,519), Orange co., S Calif., on the Pacific coast, across from Santa Catalina Island, in an oil-producing area; inc. 1909. It manufactures aerospace vehicles, aircraft parts, optical instruments, and heat transfer equipment. , has a criminal record that began in 1990 and includes assault with a deadly weapon Assault with a Deadly Weapon is the term used to describe the act of threatening to harm one or more people by using a weapon (usually a firearm). Here, assault must be differentiated from battery as they are often confused. Assault is threatening to use force. , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. USA Today USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. . Citing court records, the newspaper reported that Zakaria, 21-year-old Sara Ann Peters and Markhasev were high on drugs and looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a drug connection when Markhasev spotted Cosby changing a flat tire on a road atop the Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (el. 1130 ft. / 334 m.) is a mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, California. It is often called Poop-Out Pass, a phrase once used by now-deceased traffic reporter Bill Keene. . Markhasev planned to rob Cosby Rob Cosby (born April 2 1981 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a minor league shortstop prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays. Crosby was called up to Toronto in September 2007 to be part of the Blue Jay's 40 Man Roster. , according to the newspaper story, but ``lost it'' and killed him. The newspaper claims Markhasev later persuaded two friends, Christopher So and Michael Chang, to help him search for the weapon in an area near the Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River is an intermittent river flowing through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley, 51 miles (82 km) southeast to its mouth in Long Beach. in Sherman Oaks, but they found nothing. According to the newspaper, So went to the police and led them to Markhasev. The USA Today report came despite an order by the judge that attorneys, prosecutors and people tied to the case are forbidden from speaking about the case publicly. Bill and Camille Cosby said Thursday that they won't publicly discuss the case until the trial is over, according to their publicist David Brokaw. ``We have no comment on the process of jurisprudence,'' Brokaw said. ``Until there is a conviction, we do not wish to fuel speculation and rumor.'' In previous weeks, Markhasev's attorneys talked of raising community funds to mount a defense or perhaps convincing a judge to appoint them to the case at public expense. Attorney Charles Lindner predicted that a trial would last at least three months and estimated the defense would have cost the Markhasev family $300,000 if they could have afforded it. Lindner announced Thursday that private funds were not available and that the defense team would not seek a court appointment. Lindner declined to state why he withdrew the motion for court appointment but told reporters: ``I came in this morning knowing it was unlikely we would remain on this case. ``The important thing is that Mr. Markhasev receive the best possible representation.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion