Trial delayed in Taser death

Associated Press – June 18, 2009 2:14 PM ET

WINNFIELD, La. (AP) – A manslaughter trial has been delayed for a former police officer accused of repeatedly jolting a handcuffed man with a Taser before he died.

Former Winnfield police officer Scott Nugent’s trial was scheduled to start July 13. A new date hasn’t been set yet.

The judge presiding over the case says attorneys are waiting for a key witness, Winn Parish Coroner Randolph Williams, to recover from an accidental gunshot wound. Williams reportedly was cleaning a gun when it slipped from his hand and discharged.

Besides manslaughter, Nugent also is charged with malfeasance in office stemming from the death of 21-year-old Baron Pikes.

Pikes was shocked nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser as he was arrested on a drug possession warrant in January 2008.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A July trial date was set Friday in the case of a former Winnfield Police officer accused of killing a man with a taser stun-gun while the man was still in police custody.

Attorneys for both Scott Nugent, the former Winnfield officer, and the state met with Judge John R. Joyce on Friday and set a trial date of July 13.

A deadline of March 26 for all motions has been set.

Joyce was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear the case as Judge Jacque D. Derr recused himself as he’s been “associated” with defendant Officer Scott Nugent on “several occasions.”

Nugent has been charged with manslaughter and malfeasance in office in connection with the death of Barron “Scooter” Pikes.

Nugent, whose firing from the Winnfield Police Department was upheld by the Civil Service Board, is accused of shocking Pikes nine times with a 50,000-volt Taser within 14 minutes. Those shocks were made while Pikes was handcuffed and in police custody in connection with a drug possession warrant in January 2008, officials said.

Winn Parish Coroner Dr. Randy Williams has said Pikes did not have PCP or cocaine in his system as officers alleged, and Pikes, whose cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest on the death certificate, may have already been dead before the last two Taser shocks.

Nugent’s attorney Phillip Terrell has said he is confident Nugent will be found innocent once all the evidence is presented. If convicted of both charges, Nugent faces up to 45 years in prison.

The family of Pikes filed a wrongful death lawsuit last year against not only Nugent but also the city of Winnfield, the mayor, City Council, police chief and other officers on the force, in addition to Taser International Inc. — the manufacturer of the stun gun device Nugent used.

Apr 6, 2009

Winn Parish Coroner Randolph Williams reportedly underwent surgery Saturday at a Shreveport hospital for an accidental gunshot wound.

Winnfield Police Chief Johnny Ray Carpenter said he had few details of the incident Sunday but expected to have additional information today.

Carpenter said, however, “My understanding is he went outside to sit under his gazebo in the back yard. He was going to clean (his gun).”

Williams was carrying a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol in his hand when it “slipped,” he said.

The hammer on the pistol was pulled back and it apparently discharged when it was dropped, Carpenter said.

The bullet went through Williams’ arm and entered his side, he said.

Williams was airlifted to a hospital in Shreveport, but Carpenter said he did not know which hospital.

Calls by The Town Talk to Williams’ home in Winnfield were unanswered.