Joseph Coy is now having charges added to him and will be taken to court for his involvement in a bias-motivated attack.
Coy, a 22-year-old Lafayette man, had his preliminary hearing this morning for a bias-motivated attack against Olubiyi Ogundipe last month. He will be headed to trial on Dec. 17.
The Public Information Officer for the Boulder County District Attorney, Catherine Olguin, explained the charges that Coy will face during his trial.
“[Coy] has been charged with assault 2, assault 3, obstructing a peace officer and bias-motivated crime,” Olguin said.
Two of those charges are felonies and could mean jail time for Coy, Olguin said.
“He has been charged with two class 4 felonies, which are the most serious charges against him,” she said. “[A] class 4 felony is a [sentence of a] minimum of two years, maximum of six years.”
Coy was originally charged with third-degree assault, bias-motivated crime and obstructing a peace officer after being involved in a hate crime against the Ogundipe, a CU student, last month on the Hill. Another assault charge was added on after it was realized that Ogundipe’s injuries were more severe than originally thought, Olguin said.
She said the preliminary hearing was to determine if there was probable cause for the case to be bound over in trial.
“In other words, it is more probable than not that he has committed the crimes which he is accused of,” she said. “At that point, they set the trial date, and when that commences, a jury will be selected.”
She said the arraignment will also be where Coy enters his plea on the charges.
Coy did not act alone, and Zachrey Harris, a 21-year-old man, has also been arrested in connection with this crime, Olguin said.
Olguin said Harris will be tried separately, and she detailed his charges.
“He was charged with harassment and also a bias-motivated crime,” she said. “He has a pre-trial conference set for the 24 [of November] at 10:30 a.m.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Isa Jones at Alexandra.i.jones@colorado.edu.
