Local defense attorney Michael Nicholls Pugh filed a brief late Tuesday suggesting that his client, Michael Lawrance Kozelka, is incompetent to stand trial.
Pugh filed the application for writ of habeas corpus in the 266th Judicial District Court, suggesting incompetence and requesting examination of his client after a lengthy interview with Kozelka.
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By WHITNEY WHITE-ASHLEY
Stephenville Police Chief Roy Halsell said Freon huffing is not a common problem in the city.
On Tuesday, 37-year-old Jeffery Thompson died after police caught him huffing Freon at the Plowboy Apartments. He was also picked up after a similar incident the night before at Casa Brendan Apartments, where he lived.
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Sticky fingers and erratic behavior landed an area man behind the bars of the Erath County Jail three times in just two days. The third arrest came after his fingerprints identified him as the individual sought in a Tuesday chase.
Stephenville Police Chief Roy Halsell said Christapher Marc Spruill, 25, was first arrested Wednesday evening after concerned citizens reported that a suspicious man was roaming around a neighborhood, knocking on doors and offering to mow residents’ lawns. Officers quickly located the suspect and later described Spruill as being “extremely agitated” while shouting obscenities, clinching his fists and making strange noises.
“The officers believed he was intoxicated on something other than alcohol,” Halsell said. “He was placed under arrest and immediately began to resist. The officers subdued the suspect and took him to the county jail.”
He was charged with resisting arrest and public intoxication and later released after posting bond.
Less than 24 hours later, Spruill was arrested a second time after police responded to a disturbance. Again, he was “visibly intoxicated” and allegedly put up a fight.
Spruill was not booked into the jail following the second arrest due to extremely erratic, uncontrollable behavior, jail officials said.
According to Lt. Don Miller with the Stephenville Police Department, fingerprints obtained at the jail linked Spruill to the Jeep that was stolen from a residence in the Alexander Ridge area Tuesday. Miller said his prints matched those lifted from a toolbox that was recovered from the stolen vehicle. The automobile’s owner reported that the toolbox was not his own.
Miller said in addition to fingerprint evidence, investigators with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office identified Spruill as the man who had allegedly fled on foot after a chase involving Erath County Constable Larry Ciccarelli.
The constable first spotted the Jeep traveling in the area of South Lillian Street. As Ciccarelli followed, the driver attempted to flee, reaching an estimated speed of 80 mph. After crashing through a fence on CR 256, the driver fled on foot and later escaped by taking a 20-foot leap from a bridge.
In addition, Halsell said during the earlier arrest, Spruill allegedly possessed property taken from the stolen vehicle, giving officers the final piece of evidence needed in the auto theft case. He was taken to the sheriff’s office for questioning and a warrant was later issued.
Spruill was arrested and charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest, and remains in the Erath County Jail. Bond has not been set.
“This is another case of law enforcement agencies working together to catch a bad guy,” Miller said. “The sheriff’s investigators and Detective Sgt. Casey Heath pieced together the puzzle that led to the suspect’s arrest.”
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David Wayne Crabtree was sentenced to 5 years of incarceration by the federal court on Monday for the use of a firearm during a local bank robbery six months ago.
He was sentenced to one day for the actual robbery and then will be required to serve three years of parole after his release. In hindsight, robbing a bank… not the brightest idea. Using a gun, 5 years in excess of a dumb idea. Call it like I see it.
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