Houser enters a not guilty plea

 

By Blair Thomas

 Shannon Houser entered a plea of not guilty Monday for charges of leaving the scene of an accident, tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana. Houser is charged in connection with the April hit-and-run death of UK student Connie Blount.

 “I don’t believe I did any of this,” Houser told Judge James Ishmael at his hearing Monday morning in Fayette County Circuit Court.

 Houser began to enter a guilty plea when he was first called by the judge, but hesitated because he “wasn’t sure what to do.”

Ishmael advised Houser to only enter a guilty plea if he believed he committed the crime.

 “It must be freely and voluntarily your decision with the advice of your attorney,” Ishmael said.

After a five-minute council with his attorney Edward Dove, Houser decided to enter a not guilty plea and go to trial. Dove had no comment.

 Houser’s trial will begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. in Fayette County Circuit Court with jury selection.

 Connie Blount’s father, Jack Blount, is in Lexington for the trial and was present at the hearing Monday morning. Blount said Sunday he thought Houser would enter a guilty plea. Blount said entering a not guilty plea might be a delay tactic for Houser to prolong the hearing.

“(Houser) has done a good job of that for almost a year now,” Blount said Sunday.

 Houser said he “didn’t mean to complicate or drag this out,” but he had some “things to complete at work.”

 “I have some things I need to complete, I need to take care of,” Houser said at the hearing. “I wouldn’t be a very good man if I didn’t complete these things.”

 Blount said while he was disappointed Houser entered a not guilty plea — when Houser finally announced he intended to plead not guilty, Blount buried his face in his hands — he knew the prosecutors were ready to go to trial. Blount also said he is working to get legislation changed so there will be a stricter punishment for those convicted of a hit-and-run.

 “I want this to be a felony in every state,” Blount said. “As long as the law allows people to benefit from running away from the scene they will.”

Connie Blount was hit by a car while crossing South Broadway against the light in the early morning hours of April 13. Houser was arrested shortly after Blount’s death.

Blount was crossing South Broadway at about 2:15 a.m. on April 13 when a pickup truck, described by police as a light-colored extended-cab Chevrolet, hit her and then fled south on South Broadway, police said April 13. Blount died from her injuries hours later at UK Hospital.

Houser was arrested two weeks later, after cell phone records put him at the scene of the accident. Police found broken and damaged vehicle parts at the scene of the accident and that same day, located a 1991 silver Chevrolet truck owned by Houser that matched the description from an eye-witness, according to court records.

According to police, the vehicle was missing its bumper, front grill and headlamp assemblies. Houser told police the missing parts were at his auto shop where he had worked the night before the accident, April 12, until 10 p.m. before returning home for the rest of the night.

Police said they located the missing parts at the auto shop that matched the parts found at the scene of the accident. Suspected blood and strands of hair were also found on the exterior of the vehicle, according to court records.

Jack Blount said the trial will be difficult for his family and while he hoped for a guilty plea, he knows he will find “no justice even in that.”

“There is no justice to be found there,” Blount said. “The law won’t allow for it. So we will find justice in our strong faith in God. It’s the same faith Connie had.”