Judge in murder case against VA police officer allows both sides to seek more records
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Timothy R. Thomas, a police officer with the Department of Veterans affairs, is charged with murdering Navy veteran Nicholas Lile, 42, on Jan. 3 while drinking with their spouses and friends in the basement of Liles’ Lowell, Ind. home. (Lake County Sheriff)
CROWN POINT, Ind. A suspended U.S. Veterans Affairs police officer’s attorneys can subpoena a cellphone provider for call records for the man he’s accused of murdering, the man’s wife and the couple’s friend, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez also granted Lake County prosecutors’ request to seek employment records for defendant Timothy R. Thomas, including work schedules, disciplinary records and complaints.
CROWN POINT â A U.S. Veterans Affairs police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of a Navy veteran earlier this year appeared in court Friday once again free on bond.
Timothy R. Thomas, 40, of Highland, posted a $7,000 cash bond Thursday afternoon after Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez granted his petition to let bail.
Thomas appeared before Vasquez on Friday morning, along with attorneys Christopher Cooper and Ben Murphy.
Thomas had requested a gag order against the wife to slain Navy veteran Nicholas Lile, 42, who died after Thomas shot him Jan. 3 in the basement of Lile s home near Lowell.
Defense questions witnesses to veteran's homicide about inconsistencies in statements nwitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nwitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CROWN POINT â Defense attorneys questioned the wife of a slain Navy veteran Thursday about secret recordings she made of phone calls between herself and her best friend, a witness to her husbandâs homicide.
Jessika Lile said she made the recordings after learning her friend, Angela Gauler, initially told Lake County sheriff s police she saw defendant Timothy R. Thomas and Nicholas Lile in a physical altercation seconds before Thomas fatally shot Nicholas Lile.
Thomas, 40, of Highland, arrived at the Liles Lowell-area home late Jan. 2 to have drinks with them and Gauler, who had been casually dating Thomas, according to Lake Criminal Court records. Nicholas Lile, 42, was shot and killed early Jan. 3.
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