Crime
Auto parts shooting suspect will stand trial
Posted: Oct 28, 2011 6:36 PM by Stefanie Boe, The Gazette
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado Springs parolee has been ordered to stand trial on charges related to shootings that killed a man and injured another outside an auto parts store.
Edward Coffey, also known as Ernest Schmidt, faces 20 felony counts, including first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Prosecutors say the 47-year-old shot the men when a robbery plot went bad. A judge ruled Friday there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.
The Gazette reports Coffey's attorney, Cindy Hyatt, had argued there is no evidence Coffey committed a premeditated murder.
The judge also ruled that Coffey's wife, Dawn Morgan, and another woman, Frani Olivas, will stand trial on charges of being an accessory to first-degree murder.
They are accused of trying to help Coffey stay on the run.
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