Big cases are scheduled for courtroom
Three high-profile court cases will appear in a Columbia County courtroom Monday, including the case of a Martinez man charged in the death of a bicyclist, who police say was struck by a car and became lodged in the windshield.
Richard Kyle Post, 26, of the 4200 block of Green Ivy Circle, will face seven charges, including homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence, kidnapping and reckless driving, at Monday's hearing.
Police say that on Aug. 29, Post drove a vehicle into Harendra K. Sinha, 63, of the 100 block of Springlakes Drive, as he was riding a bicycle. Police say Post drove a mile with Sinha lodged in his windshield before he abandoned the cyclist behind an elementary school and called police from a nearby gas station to report that he had been carjacked.
Sinha died Sept. 23 from injuries suffered in the incident.
Post is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond, according to jail personnel.
Also appearing in court Monday will be former Augusta gynecologist Jerry Jackson Lee Jr., facing three counts of child molestation and one count each of aggravated assault, possession of a knife during the commission of a crime and sexual battery, according to a grand jury indictment released in July.
The charges stem from a May 2005 domestic dispute between Lee, of the 2500 block of Fallen Tree Lane, and his wife. Police say they were arguing about an incident in which Mrs. Lee said he had sexually abused a 9-year-old girl. Lee's son reportedly arrived after being called by Mrs. Lee after her husband raised a knife, according to the incident report.
Lee is being held in the Columbia County Detention Center without bond on a probation violation from Hazlehurst, Ga., on a fraud charge.
Morris Edward Perkins, 58, of the 4600 block of Eisenview Drive in Grovetown, will appear in court Monday to face a vehicular homicide charge. Police say Perkins was driving under the influence along Interstate 20 on Oct. 11 when he reportedly struck a stalled vehicle, killing 18-month-old Taylor Brooklyn Hegre. The toddler was inside the vehicle while her mother, Casey Hegre, of Dodge Lane in Grovetown, was attempting to move the car onto the shoulder.
Perkins was released from the Columbia County Detention Center on Oct. 12 after posting an $11,200 bond.
Charges against a Grovetown man who was to appear Monday to face a rape charge have been dropped, said Assistant District Attorney Ashley Wright. Paul Matthew Colohan III, 26, of the 300 block of Creekside Drive, was arrested in March 2005 in the alleged January 2005 rape of a 14-year-old girl. A DNA test excluded Colohan as the rapist, Wright said.