Defense attorney: video of alleged West Asheville pedestrian murder misses 'full context'
ASHEVILLE - The attorney for a car passenger accused of murdering a pedestrian in a West Asheville crosswalk says video of the event failed to capture "the full context of the incident."
Asheville attorney Al Messer also criticized the decision to add a second-degree murder charge to the assault inflicting serious bodily injury charge against his client Tyler Coenraads, 24, of Marathon Lane west of Asheville.
"We are disappointed in the district attorney’s charging decision. This is a tragic incident but my client, Mr. Coenraads, is not guilty of second-degree murder," Messer said in an April 10 statement in response to questions from the Citizen Times.
District Attorney Todd Williams in an April 11 email said he was "obligated to refrain from making public comment on this pending case."
Messer said video of the fatal event that had been released by the Asheville Police Department "does not capture all the actions, behaviors or circumstances of the parties involved."
"We look forward to the opportunity to provide the full context of the incident. Once the full context is presented in court, we are confident Mr. Coenraads will be acquitted of second-degree murder," the attorney said.
Messer declined to elaborate, saying in a follow-up text that the statement was all he could say about the case "right now."
Coenraads was initially charged with the felony assault after pushing Gregory William Martin in the back Feb. 29, causing him to fall and sustain severe head trauma, according to APD officers. Coenraads was arrested and released on a $5,000 bond, which would require a $500, or 10%, payment to a bondsman.
Martin, 73, of Candler Knob Road west of Asheville, died March 12 at Mission Hospital. The Citizen Times has left messages at numbers listed for Martin's relatives.
APD spokesperson Samantha Booth said the department completed an investigation and after considering the findings of the State Medical Examiner's Office and "with consultation of Buncombe County District Attorney's Office," detectives charged Coenraads with murder.
For the murder charge Coenraads was jailed and after an initial hearing placed on a $500,000 bond. He was later released. In the case of the second bond, he could have paid a bondsman $50,000.
The video showed a white SUV with its right blinker on stopped at a crosswalk at Haywood Road and Interstate 240. A man in a dark hoodie crosses on Haywood and walks around the car, which is blocking the crosswalk. He taps hard on the hood with his left hand. With his back turned to the car, he gestures with both arms in the air. He then turns back to the car and walks toward the driver's window and the car rolls forward.
The vehicle then stops abruptly and a bearded man in a baseball hat exits quickly and runs around the front of the car. The man on foot had started to walk away and the bearded man shoves him hard in the back, the video shows. According to his jail booking information, Coenraads is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds.
Coenraads is scheduled to appear in Buncombe County District Court on April 24 for the assault charge and April 29 for the murder charge.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Lawyer: alleged Asheville crosswalk murder video misses 'full context'
