From the Associated Press: WACO, Texas (AP) — A McLennan County grand jury has indicted country singer Billy Joe Shaver on felony charges for his alleged role in an April 2007 shooting at a Lorena bar.
Shaver, 69, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and a charge of unlawful carrying of a handgun by a licensed holder on a licensed premises, a third-degree felony, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported in its online edition Wednesday.
An official at the McLennan County Jail in Waco told The Associated Press that Shaver had not turned himself in Wednesday night.
Messages left by the AP for Shaver’s last known attorney and to his representative seeking comment after business hours weren’t immediately returned.
One witness said Shaver followed the victim, Billy B. Coker, out of Papa Joe’s Texas Saloon in Lorena on April 1, 2007, and asked, “Where do you want it?” before shooting him in the face, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed last year.
Another witness said that after hearing gunfire, she went outside and heard Shaver say to Coker, “Tell me you are sorry,” and “Nobody tells me to shut up,” according to the affidavit signed by then-acting Lorena Police Chief John Moran.
Coker, who was treated and released, told police last year that the shooting was unprovoked.
An attorney for Shaver said at the time that Coker was drunk, aggressive and had a knife and that he followed Shaver outside.
End Associated Press. My take? Mr. Coker is looking to make his mistake into a pay bay.