An Augusta woman accused of threatening a local attorney after a tense juvenile court hearing in May was indicted this week.
A Richmond County grand jury indicted Nekoda Coleman, 28, of the 2000 block of Richmond Hill Road, on one count of threatening a witness in an official proceeding, according to court documents. Coleman is a relative of 15-year-old Joshua Plowright, one of the suspects in the court hearing.
Coleman is accused of making comments of a "violent nature" to Natalie Spires, an assistant district attorney for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, outside the juvenile court building on Broad Street on May 12.
Spires had just finished a four-hour hearing involving the case of Terence Reese, a 16-year-old Butler High School student who was severely beaten in March.
Judge Willie Saunders held the hearings to determine whether five teens charged in the beating should be tried as adults because of alleged gang affiliations.
Of those five teens, two -- Berten Blockett and Branndon Manson -- eventually were transferred to Superior Court, in part because they readily admitted their involvement in the crime. The evidence against the other three teens was less clear. Blockett and Manson -- ages 16 and 14 when arrested -- are awaiting trial.
Of the other three, Plowright was cleared; Mark Daniel Musick, 14, was given three years' probation; and Ross Nipple, 15, was sentenced to two years in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice.
Authorities say a group of boys claiming membership in the Apple Valley Posse gang decided to "lock down the block," mercilessly beating the first person to enter their territory. At least one of them wielded brass knuckles. Reese, an honor student, was walking home from school when he was attacked.
He suffered a broken jaw that had to remain wired shut for weeks and had titanium plates put into his mouth. He also suffered broken bones in his face.
BACKGROUND: Terence Reese, 16, was walking home from school March 1 on Circular Drive when he was attacked. Authorities say boys claiming membership in the Apple Valley Posse gang decided to "lock down the block," beating the first person to enter their territory. Five teens were charged.
DEVELOPMENTS
- On June 4, Judge Willie Saunders transferred the cases against Berten Blockett and Branndon Manson -- ages 16 and 14 at the time of their arrests -- to Superior Court. Both are awaiting trial.
- On July 9, Saunders cleared Joshua Plowright, 15, of aggravated battery and criminal street-gang activity charges. The judge gave Mark Daniel Musick, 14, three years' probation, and Ross Nipple, 15, was sentenced to 18 to 24 months in custody.
Don't know which one of the little thugs she's related to, but it leaves little doubt as to where he learned his behavior.
Um, it's NEVER a good idea to threaten a prosecutor? Almost as stupid as threatening the judge....
Only dogs and yellow men are allowed, huh?
(You must have some fascinating stories to tell.)
Is Natalie George Fisher's granddaughter? I think that he used to tell all of his grandchildren good morning on his WGAC radio program. George was a class act and those of us who tuned in always enjoyed his "marching them out the door and on the way to school".
Diximan, agree, not very bright. ''Life's tough, pilgrim, and it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' - John Wayne
As bad as it sounds, I doubt if the jury will reach a guilty decision, for the same reasons they have in the past.
Lordy..lordy...the streets of my youth....how sad to see this.... bike rides & innocent afternoons have now gone with the wind....we didn't even know back then what a gang was....only the chain gang. Maybe that is where some of these "punks" need to be.. on a chain gang.