Lawsuit filed blaming neighbor for death in Corbin shooting

The mother of a Corbin man, who was gunned down by his girlfriend’s father this past August, is suing the man who allegedly provided the shooter with the gun.

Velma Abner, Administrator of the Estate of Ryan Abner, filed suit Oct. 29 in Whitley Circuit Court against Joe Dobson of 1107 Forest Circle Drive in Corbin.

"Joe Dobson negligently loaned Bill Cox a loaded Glock when he knew he was an angry man," Independence attorney Stephanie L. Collins wrote in the lawsuit. "As a direct and proximate result of the aforementioned negligence, the plaintiffs suffered serious physical and emotional injury including death.

"The death of Ryan Abner resulted from an injury inflicted by the wrongful acts and/or negligence of the defendant Joe Dobson."

The lawsuit seeks trial by jury, compensatory damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, interests, costs associated with the lawsuit and all other relief that the court deems fitting and proper.

Eric Deters, the lead attorney in the lawsuit, said that suing Cox would be waste of time because he has no financial ability to pay a monetary judgment although no one is disputing the fact that Cox is the person who pulled the trigger.

"If he didn’t have the gun, he wouldn’t have had a trigger to pull," Deters added.

Deters said that Dobson and Cox were friends, knew each other well and that Dobson knew Cox’s mindset that day.

Suing Dobson for negligent acts is a means of triggering Dobson’s homeowner’s insurance coverage, Deters added.

William "Bill" Cox didn’t deny shooting Abner when he called 9-1-1 to report the incident.

"I’ll go to prison over this, but it’s worth it," Cox allegedly told 9-1-1 dispatchers after shooting Abner with a .40 caliber Glock handgun near his driveway.

On Oct. 16, a Whitley County Grand Jury indicted Cox for murder and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in connection with the incident.

Cox faces between 20 to 50 years in prison or life behind bars on the murder charge.

The lawsuit alleges that on Aug. 20, Abner, his girlfriend, Brittany Cox, and their baby were putting diapers in their car from the house they shared with Bill Cox at 1103 Forest Circle Drive in Corbin.

Bill Cox wasn’t home when they returned to the house, but drove up the street two houses while they were loading the truck to Dobson’s 1107 Forest Circle Drive residence in order to get a gun from Dobson, the lawsuit alleged.

"Ryan, Brittany and their son got in the vehicle to leave when Brittany asked Ryan to go to her dad so she could ask him for some money," the lawsuit alleged. "Bill Cox and Joe Dobson were out on the patio. When they pulled up Brittany asked her dad for the money."

According to Corbin police, a verbal argument ensued between Bill Cox and Ryan Abner and as Abner drove off, Bill Cox fired one round from a Glock .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun into the right rear of the SUV. Abner got out of the vehicle and began cursing Cox. When Cox began moving toward the vehicle, Abner jumped back in and began to leave.

"Bill Cox walked up to the truck and fired the gun twice into Ryan’s head and four times into Ryan’s body. Bill Cox returned the gun to Joe Dobson and called 911," the lawsuit alleged.

Corbin police said Bill Cox and Dobson had been talking about Cox buying the gun for some time prior to the incident.
Dobson has not been charged criminally in connection with the shooting.

When contacted by phone Tuesday morning, Dobson declined to comment noting that he needed to speak with his attorney first about the matter.

Bill Cox has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is scheduled for a Jan. 29 pretrial conference in his case. He is being held in the Whitley County Detention Center in lieu of a $250,000 cash bond.