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08-15-2012, 11:54 AM
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She Shot The Biker Who Stopped To Complain
A Jeffersonville, Indiana, woman shot a motorcyclist in the chest during a June 2008 road-rage encounter, and a Clark County jury convicted her of felony battery more than a year later, according to the News and Tribune, WAVE 3 and WDRB. Wesley Mosier Jr., a 54-year-old Corydon man, was riding his motorcycle on 10th Street in Jeffersonville on June 17, 2008, when Yalanda Parrish, 39, pulled up behind him in a sport utility vehicle, police said. Mosier told reporters he tried to get out of her way several times before stopping near 10th Street and Allison Lane, in front of a Thornton's station, to ask if he had done something to upset her. Parrish said Mosier approached her SUV in a threatening manner. Witness accounts of the moments before the shooting differed, with some describing Mosier as calm and others describing him as agitated. Parrish, who had a valid permit for her .38 caliber revolver, fired a single shot from inside the vehicle, striking Mosier in the chest. Parrish called 911 herself and stayed at the scene, and Jeffersonville police described her as cooperative. Mosier was taken to University Hospital in Louisville, where he had surgery and remained hospitalized for several days. Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart's office initially filed no charges while it reviewed whether the shooting was justified as self-defense. Parrish was later indicted on charges of class B felony aggravated battery and class C felony criminal recklessness. At trial, Stewart called five witnesses, while defense attorney Brian Butler put on no evidence and did not call Parrish to testify. A jury of eight women and four men deliberated less than three and a half hours on August 1, 2009, before finding her guilty on both counts. Mosier wept as he left the courtroom, telling reporters, "It happened just the way I said it happened." A Clark County judge sentenced Parrish to 10 years, the advisory term for a class B felony under Indiana law at the time, with a possible range of six to 20 years. The sentence allowed her final years to be served through work release instead of continuous incarceration. Parrish was released from the Indiana Department of Correction after about three years and was ordered in August 2012 to report to the Clark County work release center, where she was expected to remain for several more years. Stewart said he believed a full 10-year executed sentence would have been more appropriate. Mosier said he held no anger toward Parrish. "I'm just not mad," he said. "I just hope that she gets her life together."
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