Drive-by suspect pleads guilty

Golden
Golden

One of four suspects arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting in December 2018 pleaded guilty Monday in Garland County Circuit Court to his involvement in the incident and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Michael Thomas Lee Golden, 21, who has remained in custody since his initial arrest Dec. 6, 2018, pleaded guilty to committing a terroristic act and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and to a felony charge of possession of a firearm by certain persons, and was sentenced to six years, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Also charged with committing a terroristic act in connection with the Dec. 5, 2018, shooting at 335 Crescent St., were Lindsey Abigail Trott, 19, and Brandon Lee Ohanian, 19, who were both arrested June 3. Trott was released on June 10 on $10,000 bond and is set to stand trial Nov. 19 in circuit court. Ohanian was released on $50,000 bond on June 12 and is set for a hearing on Oct. 1 to determine the admissibility of any statements he made to Hot Springs police.

A fourth suspect, Brian Scott Rogers, 29, was initially arrested the day of the shooting on Dec. 5 and charged with theft by receiving of a firearm and was released on $5,000 bond on Dec. 10. A warrant for his arrest on the additional charge of committing a terroristic act was issued on June 3 but he could not be located, and he also reportedly failed to appear for a hearing on his original theft by receiving charge. As of Tuesday, he was still being sought on warrants.

According to probable cause affidavits on the charges, on Dec. 5, police responded to 335 Crescent St. regarding numerous shots fired at a residence by unknown persons. Officers arrived and located 13 .223-caliber shell casings in the street and numerous locations where bullets had struck the residence and a vehicle parked outside.

A local man and his son were both inside the residence during the shooting, but neither of them was injured from that incident. It was later discovered that the son had been shot in the leg earlier that same day on Highway 290, and had been treated and released from CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs. He reportedly identified the suspects he believed to be involved in shooting his residence as Golden, Rogers, Ohanian and Trott.

About 30 minutes after the shooting on Crescent, police stopped a gray Ford Focus occupied by Trott, Ohanian and Rogers, who are brothers, after noting the vehicle matched the description of the vehicle seen fleeing the scene from the earlier incident where the son was shot.

Just prior to the vehicle being stopped, a shotgun was seen being thrown from the vehicle on Carpenter Dam Road that was located by police and later determined to be stolen. Both Rogers and Ohanian claimed the other one threw the shotgun out, but only Rogers was arrested at that time for theft by receiving of a firearm.

Ohanian and Trott reportedly told police an AR-15 rifle was used in the shooting on Crescent and afterward they dropped Golden off at his girlfriend's residence on Albert Pike Road where they saw him put the rifle inside a gray Dodge Charger parked outside.

The next day, on Dec. 6, around 8:30 a.m., Garland County sheriff's investigators went to the residence on Albert Pike and spoke to Golden who retrieved the AR-15 rifle from behind the driver's seat of the Charger. Two boxes of .223 rounds were located in the trunk and Golden told them the magazine to the rifle was in the box springs of a bed inside the house.

Golden was previously convicted of theft by receiving of a firearm on July 18, 2017, and sentenced to five years' probation with a search waiver on file. He was taken into custody at that time for possession of a firearm by certain persons. He was later charged with the additional count of committing a terroristic act while still in custody.

Golden, Rogers and Trott reportedly all admitted to being in the vehicle during the shooting on Crescent and that Ohanian was with them. They also allegedly admitted to purchasing the .223 shells earlier and then driving to the residence on Crescent to shoot at it "because of the earlier incident in the county."

Trott and Rogers reportedly said it was Golden who shot at the residence, but Golden said it was Ohanian.

Local on 08/21/2019

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