Trial date set in U of C robbery case
Whitley Circuit Judge Paul Winchester has scheduled a fall trial date for two Williamsburg men, who are accused of assaulting and robbing a University of the Cumberlands’ student late last year.
During a pre-trial conference Tuesday morning, Winchester scheduled a Sept. 28 trial date for both Devon Preyer, 21, and Davonta Rozier, 23, on charges of second-degree assault and first-degree robbery.
According to their indictments, Rozier and Preyer allegedly individually and/or in complicity with another beat victim Zane Parker causing him serious physical injury, and used physical force on Parker while in the course of committing a theft.
Both Rozier and the victim were students at Cumberlands at the time of the assault. Preyer is a former student, who was permanently barred from campus after being dismissed from the school in the fall of 2014.
University of the Cumberlands spokesperson Leslie Ryser confirmed in January that Rozier is no longer a student at the university.
Preyer allegedly told police that Parker, the victim, allegedly threw a punch at him so he fought back punching and kicking Parker, which caused serious physical injury to the victim’s head and face, according to his arrest citation.
Preyer also allegedly stole the victim’s computer after the assault and told him, “I will blow your brains out,” Lt. Jim Pool wrote on the arrest citation.
Williamsburg Police Chief Wayne Bird said that it isn’t clear what lead up to the assault, but that apparently the victim had some property stolen and confronted the suspects about a month prior to the assault believing that they stole it.
Bird said that Preyer allegedly kicked and punched the victim several times according to witnesses and the victim, but that Rozier only threw a couple of punches.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Winchester agreed to amend Preyer’s bond so that he no longer has to wear an ankle-monitoring device.
Williamsburg attorney Jim Wren II, who is representing both Preyer and Rozier, asked Winchester to amend Rozier’s bond to a third-party surety bond.
Rozier, who has family in Georgia, has been incarcerated since his arrest because he had no one in Georgia who could sign a third-party surety bond promising to make sure he would appear back in court in Kentucky.
Wren said that Rozier has a former coach, who lives locally and has tentatively agreed to sign a surety bond promising to make sure Rozier would keep all his court appearances and who would allow Rozier to live with him while the case is pending.
However, the coach wasn’t in court Tuesday morning and both Winchester and Commonwealth Attorney Allen Trimble said that they wanted the coach to appear in court in order to make sure he knew what he was agreeing to do.
Winchester noted that he didn’t want the coach to think that he had ordered him to let Rozier live with him and told Wren to have the coach come to court Wednesday morning, if he was still willing to sign Rozier’s bond and allow him to live with him while his case is pending.
Both Rozier and Preyer have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Wren said that both of his clients insist they are absolutely not guilty and expect to be vindicated.