AUSTIN, Texas – Monday marks the day prosecutors will finally begin to question the man charged with trying to kill Travis County District Judge Julie Kocurek.
- Prosecutors will question Chimene Onyeri
- Onyeri confessed to shooting Judge Julie Kocurek
- Kocurek was severely injured and lost a finger
In 2015, 29-year-old Chimene Onyeri is believed to have shot Kocurek in the driveway outside her Austin home. Kocurek was severely injured, but has now recovered and returned to the bench.
Last week Kocurek gave emotional testimony about the day she was shot and how she recovered. Last Thursday, testimony wrapped up with the defense attorney asking his own client questions as he called him to the stand. Prosecutors say Onyeri fired four bullets into Kocurek's car, seriously injuring the judge.
Kocurek survived, but lost a finger and suffered several other permanent injuries as a result of the shooting.
In February 2017, Travis County commissioners signed off on a $500,000 settlement with Kocurek over how the county handled a threat before her shooting.
After the shooting, a previous threat against an unspecified judge came to light. Court documents show that, two weeks before the judge was shot, a woman called the Travis County District Attorney's Office and said a man, Onyeri, wanted to kill a Travis County judge.
Onyeri had a case before the judge and faced having his probation for new criminal charges out of Louisiana. Prosecutors have shown how Onyeri helped lead an elaborate racketeering operation, with credit card skimmers, stolen credit card numbers and stolen identities.
In court Monday, Onyeri painted himself as a Robin Hood of sorts, trying to take money from the banks rather than account holders. Onyeri said he never puts other people in harm's way, referring to his criminal enterprise. When asked if shooting a gun into a car four times in a residential neighborhood puts people in harm's way, Onyeri said he didn't know the judge was in the car.
Monday afternoon, cross examination is expected to focus more on the shooting itself. Onyeri is expected to be the last witness. The case could go to the jury for a verdict this week.