Guilty Verdict in Commonwealth v. Khalil Coleman
Commonwealth v. Khalil Coleman
Judge: Summe
Prosecutor: Rob Sanders
Police Agency: Elsmere
On 2/15/21 just before 11am, Elsmere Police responded to a residence on Bridgegate Court for a report of a home invasion robbery. The homeowner told police a young white man pointed a gun at her son while he was taking out the garbage and said, “We got business to discuss! Get in the house!” Instead, the son fled into the house and tried to shut the door while the robber tried to force his way inside. The homeowner called police while her fiancé helped her son hold the door. Eventually the robber gave up and retreated to his getaway car waiting at the end of the driveway. The son provided a detailed description of the robber’s clothing including the ski mask on his head and two gold chains around his neck.
Officer Steve Panko left the crime scene to search for the vehicle described as a four-door, white car with out of state plates. Almost immediately, Panko spotted a matching car driving back towards the house that had just been robbed. Two African-American males in the front seat appeared to be arguing with a young, white male in the back seat who matched the description of the robber right down to the two gold chains around his neck. Panko stopped the car and detained the three men in separate police cars. The white male was identified as Johnny Hubbard, 17, of Gary, IN. The front passenger was identified as Joshua Clarey, 25, of Milwaukee, WI and the driver was Khalil Coleman, 35, also of Milwaukee, WI. Hubbard admitted to trying to rob the residence on Bridgegate. Clarey refused to speak with officers. Coleman initially told police he was in town to visit his family in Louisville. When officers informed him he was well over an hour’s drive from Louisville, he then claimed he didn’t know the other two men and was only giving them a ride from the gas station just up the street. Panko would later discover Coleman’s phone was open to Google Maps with a Bridgegate Court address entered into the app, only the address in the phone was two houses down from the one the trio tried to rob. All three men were arrested.
Hubbard’s juvenile case was transferred to Circuit Court after he turned 18 for prosecution as an adult. All three men were indicted by the Kenton County Grand Jury for Complicity to First Degree Robbery. Coleman and Clarey were also indicted for Second Degree Unlawful Transaction With a Minor. Hubbard entered into a plea agreement and agreed to testify against Clarey and Coleman in exchange for a 10 year sentence. Clarey pled guilty to Second Degree Robbery and Unlawful Transaction With a Minor Second Degree but refused to testify so Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders is recommending a 15 year sentence. Coleman chose to go jury trial.
The case was called for trial on April 6, 2022 before Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe. Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders presented testimony from the three residents of the home that was robbed. Now-retired Officer Panko testified about the arrest and played body worn camera (BWC) videos from Elsmere Police on the scene. Johnny Hubbard was also called to the stand and told jurors he agreed to help Clarey rob the house because he was hoping to gain enough money to hire a lawyer for his mother who is currently in jail in Indiana facing murder charges. Hubbard said Clarey told him the target house was the home of a drug dealer who kept hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash, drugs, and jewelry on hand. Hubbard said Clarey told him the drug dealer drove a Dodge Hellcat muscle car. Hubbard told jurors when the trio arrived on Bridgegate Court they saw a Dodge Charger in the victims’ driveway but did not realize it wasn’t the correct house. Hubbard said Khalil Coleman handed him a Glock handgun and told him to “Go get that money.” Hubbard said he had never met Coleman until he showed up with Clarey driving a rental car they used because none of the men had their own vehicle.
Sanders also introduced testimony from Elsmere Police Detective Eric Higgins who searched each of the defendants’ cell phones. The cell phones showed no communication between Coleman and Hubbard. Text messages between Coleman and Clarey showed Clarey gave Coleman the cash to rent the car used to travel to Kentucky. Coleman also told Clarey via text that “My back is against the wall” and indicated he needed money to buy birthday presents for his mother and his daughter, and to pay his phone bill.
Coleman tried to call Clarey as a defense witness but Clarey refused to testify, asserting his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. Coleman took the stand in his own defense and tried to convince jurors he thought the men were traveling to Atlanta to sell Clarey’s watch. He claimed Clarey asked him to pick up Hubbard and drive him to Kentucky as a favor since they were passing through the state anyway. Coleman claimed it was Clarey and Hubbard who decided to rob the house without his knowledge. On cross-examination, Sanders pointed out that in the thousands of texts between Coleman and Clarey, neither man ever mentioned a watch. Coleman also never mentioned the watch story to police. Sanders also walked Coleman through the math of how much money Clarey would have wasted renting a car, buying gas, and paying Coleman to travel to Atlanta and back when he could have sold the watch in Milwaukee or any number of cities closer to Milwaukee than Atlanta.
At the conclusion of the three day trial, the jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Coleman guilty of First Degree Robbery, but not guilty of Second Degree Unlawful Transaction With a Minor. Sanders said he understood the jury’s verdict because while the evidence of Coleman’s participation in the robbery was overwhelming, Hubbard was almost 18 years old so it was conceivable that Coleman did not realize Hubbard was a juvenile. Clarey took the stand again during the sentencing phase to tell the jury about his role as a leader of social justice protests in Milwaukee and his work as a social justice educator with Milwaukee public school students. What the jury did not get to hear was Coleman’s admitted ties to the notorious violent street gang known as the “Gangster Disciples” or the fact that many of the “protests” he led actually turned into violent riots.
After a second round of deliberations, the jury then recommended Coleman serve 10 years in prison. First Degree Robbery is a violent offense under Kentucky law, meaning Coleman must serve 8.5 years in prison before being eligible for parole. Formal, final sentencing will be held in May 2022.
Sanders complimented Elsmere Police for the quick arrest and thorough investigation. He also said the thought of three men thinking it was acceptable to drive seven hours just to rob a house was mind-boggling, but the kind of thing he expects from people who live in jurisdictions where criminals are no longer held accountable for their actions. Sanders said, “I hope anyone else inclined to visit Kentucky takes note. We still prosecute criminals down here!”
Posted on Tuesday, April 26th, 2022 @ 12:49PM
Categories: Blog, Commonwealth's Commentary, Media/Press Releases, Press Room
