Gouker leaned over to the detective, “Let me tell him you’re straight.” He then began speaking to Cassi’s boyfriend, “Hey, it’s me, man. Just tell them the truth; you hear me?”
“Okay.”
Detective Russ began to ask the man when he first heard that Little Josh was involved in the murder and he indicated that Big Josh told him the day after Trey’s body was found. He was emphatic that Big Josh, not Little Josh, told him about the involvement. Once again when Gouker heard something he did not like, he jumped in.
“No, it was Cassi,” Gouker corrected Cassi’s boyfriend when he stated that it was Big Josh who implicated Little Josh.
Russ shot him a glance, perturbed that Gouker was again interjecting himself in the conversation and trying to influence witness testimony. He looked at Detective Russ and shrugged. “[Cassi’s boyfriend] is a drunk,” Gouker whispered, implying that the boyfriend was unable to adequately recall the events of the night.
Detective Russ continued, “Did Little Josh talk to you about it?”
“Not really.”
Eventually Cassi’s boyfriend also stated that Little Josh had told him he’d hit Trey with a baseball bat “numerous times.”7
Cassi reclaimed the phone and they continued to speak about her version of events the night that Trey was murdered. The officers arranged to visit Cassi’s house the following day so that they could check the van in which she allegedly transported the murder weapon for evidence. They also wanted her to drive them on the same route she claimed she took Little Josh to dispose of the items she asserted he had used in Trey’s death. As they got off the phone, Gouker was quick to tell Cassi that he loved her and she parroted back the same. She promised that she would soon place money on his “books” at the jail so that he could call her more frequently and buy items from the commissary. Even locked safely behind bars, Gouker still had influence in making his women do his bidding.
The officers prepared to leave Gouker behind in Alabama and they surely felt they were on the precipice of something huge. Trey Zwicker’s death was one of the most talked-about crimes in recent history in Louisville and they really wanted to solve it.
Officers arrived at the Home of the Innocents where Little Josh was staying. Ruby Jessie told officers that while at the motel, Big Josh told her that his son murdered Trey and after some prodding by Detective Russ, she stated that Little Josh had indicated that he was involved in the killing. They had a statement from Angelic that Little Josh had confessed to her in a motel room in Tennessee and they also had Cassi’s statement that she drove Little Josh to a dumpster to dispose of bloody clothes and a bat she claimed had been used in the crime. They also were suspicious of a perceived inconsistency in previous statements Little Josh had given to law enforcement. In one statement, he said he saw Trey after his shower on the evening of his death. In the other, he told officers that he did not see Trey after his shower, because he was at Cassi’s house.
There was no forensic evidence linking Josh Young to the crime scene and he had not given a statement to police admitting guilt. The officers had assertions from four proven liars and an inconsistency between two statements given by a scared and traumatized fifteen-year-old boy as he was questioned by police without the presence of a parent or guardian.
That is probably the reason they allowed Gouker to call several individuals. They wanted to know that he could give them other people who would back up his story. Cassi was the least consistent of the women Gouker phoned. When asked initially who killed Trey, she stated that Big Josh did it. In fact, the first few times officers and Gouker asked her, she claimed that Josh Gouker had killed Trey. It was only after careful prodding and direction by Gouker that she finally, very reluctantly, said that Little Josh was involved. Gouker controlled Cassi and she had a history of doing whatever he asked her to do.
Angelic was also difficult to believe. She was still involved with Gouker and she clearly feared him in many respects. She too refused to tell police that Little Josh was involved until Gouker blatantly led her in that direction. At his direction, she implicated his son.
Lastly, Ruby Jessie also had a vested interest in lying for Gouker. She had a much closer relationship with him than with her grandson. Ruby had a history of doing anything she could for her son. She had served thirty days in jail for trying to smuggle drugs to him while he was incarcerated. She was willing to give up her own freedom for her son; she’d demonstrated that through past behavior. Yet she professed to the detectives time and again that she didn’t believe her grandson was involved in Trey’s death.
Every witness who spoke out against Little Josh was fiercely loyal to Gouker and feared Gouker’s wrath when he did not get his way. They would do anything Gouker told them to do, especially if Gouker’s freedom was on the line. It is difficult for an outsider to comprehend the pull that Gouker had over people. He preyed on those weaker than himself and he controlled them through fear and intimidation. Everyone in his inner circle knew that Gouker had no qualms about lashing out violently at those who crossed him. It was an incredible amount of control, but it was tangible and real. At this point in their investigation, the detectives could not have comprehended the lengths to which these women would go in order to protect Gouker.
Despite the fact that the only witnesses against him were women held emotionally captive by Big Josh, the detectives arrested Little Josh and transported him to the juvenile detention center. He could not believe the words he was hearing as officers informed him that he was under arrest for the death of his stepbrother. He knew in his heart that he had nothing to do with the brutal murder of Trey Zwicker, a boy he’d considered a friend for the majority of his life.
When police arrested Little Josh, he was scared and confused. He just couldn’t understand why officers thought he was involved. It would not be long until he heard the first rumblings of the evidence police claimed to have against him. When he learned that his own biological father was the impetus for the charges, he felt crushingly betrayed. The virtual stranger who called himself Josh’s father had apparently sacrificed his child to save himself.8
Only six short weeks before, his father had regained custody of him and Little Josh, though unfamiliar with the man, felt good that someone cared enough to fight for him. It was unbelievable that someone who claimed to care about him could now craft such an amazing lie. As Josh settled into bed that evening, he had no idea of the firestorm that would soon erupt around his case and he waited, hoping that he would go before a juvenile court judge the next day and that everyone would see it was all a mistake.
Chapter 11
The System
In Kentucky, proceedings involving juvenile offenders in juvenile court are confidential. The records are sealed and the courtrooms are closed to the public. Therefore, when Josh was initially taken into custody, his court appearances were not public fodder. He appeared before a juvenile court judge for his initial arraignment on June 24, 2011. His attorneys entered a plea of “not true” on his behalf. A “not true” plea in juvenile court is akin to a “not guilty” plea in adult court.
The case went before the judge again on June 27 for a detention hearing. When a child is “detained,” he or she is entitled to a detention hearing within seventy-two hours. Juvenile court must use the “least restrictive alternative” in keeping a young person incarcerated, so the court will decide at that hearing whether the child will be released to a parent, kept in a secure detention facility, placed on house arrest or a variety of other alternatives. The judge ordered that Josh would be remanded to a detention facility pending prosecution of the case.
When a juvenile is charged with a crime, in certain situations the prosecutors can request that the court transfer the case to adult court. In the event that the judge grants that request, the proceedings are open to the public and the case continues in the same manner as any regular adult court case.
The transfer is not automatic and there are specific safeguards in plac
e to protect the rights of the alleged offender. It is not a decision that the court takes lightly. The purpose of juvenile court is to protect the best interest of the child and the goal is rehabilitation. The school of thought is that children are not as mature as adults and may not make adult decisions. The hope is that when a juvenile offender is caught breaking the law, the court can step in and rectify the situation by putting safeguards in place to insure the child has proper support and to rehabilitate the child so that he or she may become a productive member of society upon reaching adulthood. The relevant statute, KRS 600.010, states that the juvenile code which governs the treatment of child offenders “shall be interpreted to promote the best interest of the child through providing treatment and sanctions to reduce recidivism and assist in making the child a productive citizen.” It further urges that this goal shall be met by “advancing the principles of professional responsibility, accountability and reformation, while maintaining public safety, seeking restitution and reparation.”1
This is the reason that juvenile court proceedings in Kentucky are closed to the public: The system does not want to stigmatize a child for his or her entire life for a youthful mistake. Each child whose case is adjudicated in juvenile court will have a “clean slate” upon reaching adulthood. However, in some situations, the circumstances are so egregious that the court must consider allowing the case to proceed in adult court. Such cases are a permanent part of the child’s record if a conviction is obtained.
In the case against Joshua Young, the Commonwealth elected to request transfer to adult court. When this occurs, the defendant is entitled to a transfer hearing and certain criteria must be met before the court can consider sending the case to circuit court. If the child offender is charged with a Class A or Class B felony and is fourteen years of age or older, he or she is eligible for transfer to circuit court. When the charge is a Class D Felony or higher and the child is over sixteen, a case is eligible for transfer if the child has at least one previous felony adjudication where he or she was found to have committed the crime.
A Class A felony is punishable by twenty years to life in prison. In Kentucky, Class A felonies are the most heinous of crimes like murder and the rape of a child. A Class B felony is punishable by ten to twenty years in prison. Examples of Class B felonies in Kentucky are crimes like manufacturing methamphetamine and violent robberies or robberies involving weapons. Class C and D felonies carry less jail time. Class C felonies have a penalty range of five to ten years and Class D felonies have a range of one to five years.
Josh was fifteen years old at the time he was charged with Trey’s murder. Detective Russ charged him with two crimes: murder and tampering with physical evidence. Tampering with physical evidence is a Class D felony in Kentucky that is punishable by one to five years in prison. The relevant Kentucky Revised Statute, KRS 524.100, states:
1)A person is guilty of tampering with physical evidence when, believing that an official proceeding is pending or may be instituted, he:
(a)Destroys, mutilates, conceals, removes or alters physical evidence which he believes is about to be produced or used in the official proceeding with intent to impair its verity or availability in the official proceeding; or
(b)Fabricates any physical evidence with intent that it be introduced in the official proceeding or offers any physical evidence, knowing it to be fabricated or altered.
(2)Tampering with physical evidence is a Class D felony.2
In order to make a case for this charge, the Commonwealth has to prove that, believing that an official proceeding was pending or would be instituted, the defendant destroyed, mutilated, concealed, removed or altered physical evidence that he or she believed would be used in the proceeding, with the intent to impair its verity or availability. The Commonwealth alleged that after the murder, Josh discarded the murder weapon and bloody clothes and this was the basis for the charge of tampering with physical evidence. If this was the only crime Josh was charged with, he would not have been eligible for transfer and the case would have been adjudicated in juvenile court. However, he was also charged with Trey’s murder. Joshua was over fourteen years old and the charge of murder is a capital offense in Kentucky, so this case was eligible for transfer to adult court and the Commonwealth elected to seek transfer. The relevant statute for the murder charge is KRS 507.020 and it states:
(1)A person is guilty of murder when:
(a)With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; except that in any prosecution a person shall not be guilty under this subsection if he acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant’s situation under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. However, nothing contained in this section shall constitute a defense to a prosecution for or preclude a conviction of manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime; or
(b)Including, but not limited to, the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person.
(2)Murder is a capital offense.3
Prosecutors appeared to operate under the theory that Josh had killed his stepbrother and that he did so deliberately and with the intention to kill Trey.
The Jefferson County Attorney’s Office is the prosecutorial office that handles juvenile cases. After Josh was formally charged with Trey’s murder, the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office made the decision to seek transfer. However, prior to doing so, in Kentucky, the juvenile prosecutor is required to consult with the Commonwealth Attorney to determine whether the office is in agreement with the attempt to transfer. If that transfer is successful, it will be the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney who prosecutes the offense.
The transfer hearing in juvenile court is comparable to a probable cause hearing in adult court. Basically, the Commonwealth is given the opportunity to put up proof in the matter through witnesses. Generally, the main witness will be the officer or detective who made the charge. The defendant’s attorney is then given the opportunity to cross-examine any witnesses called by the prosecutor.
After hearing the evidence, the judge makes a determination whether the case should remain in juvenile court or proceed in circuit court. In making his or her determination, the judge must consider several factors: the seriousness of the offense, whether the offense was against a person or property, the maturity of the child, the child’s prior record, the best interest of the child and the community, the prospects of adequate protection of the public, the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the child by the use of procedures, services and facilities currently available to the juvenile justice system and evidence of the child’s participation in a gang.
At the completion of the hearing, the judge must consider whether the child meets these criteria. If two or more of the factors favor transfer based on the testimony heard during the hearing, the judge may transfer the case to circuit court at his or her discretion. If two or more of the criteria are not met, the case proceeds in juvenile court.
The judge heard the transfer hearing in Joshua’s case in two parts, on August 9 and September 14, 2011, and she found that the case was appropriate for transfer. Although Josh had no serious charges on his record, the severity of the crime and that fact that it was committed against a person was enough to warrant transfer and his attorneys stipulated that those two criteria were met by the facts of the case. Joshua was remanded to the juvenile detention center pending his indictment.
After the transfer hearing, the case was presented to a grand jury and the prosecution secured an indictment. Josh then appeared for the first time in front of the new judge who would ultimately preside over the trial, Judge Barry Willett. As judge in the matter, he was responsible f
or setting bond for Josh. He set that bond in the amount of $100,000 cash only. Until someone was able to post that bond, Josh had to remain in the custody of the Jefferson County Youth Center pending trial.
While Little Josh was being held at Louisville’s youth detention facility, his father was miles away in Alabama, also incarcerated. Gouker continued to be held on the kidnapping charges involving Erin Specth and that was not the only thing keeping him behind bars. Gouker was the subject of two other holds. He was in violation of his parole in Kentucky and a detainer was lodged for those cases. He was also the subject of a hold out of Indiana for prior theft charges.
Gouker, it appeared, was stuck. Even if he made bond on the Alabama case, both jurisdictions to the north wanted to extradite him back into their states to face the charges against him there. It seemed there was no way out this time. However, Gouker had a way of getting what he wanted. He wanted out of custody and back onto the streets of Louisville. It seemed that this was something that would never happen. However, luck was on Gouker’s side. Someone in the corrections system made a costly mistake.
Alabama courts released their hold on Gouker in October of 2013 and for some reason did not recognize the holds from the other two states. It was a mistake that would give Gouker his freedom, at least for a while. He was released from Alabama and the Kentucky and Indiana authorities were not notified in time. When officials of those states did not come to Alabama to claim Gouker, he was released outright. Gouker wasted no time making his way back to Louisville and he immediately sought out Angelic.
It wasn’t long until Alabama authorities, as well as officials in Kentucky and Indiana, realized the mistake. They issued warrants for the arrest of Gouker. By that point he was well hidden at Angelic’s and spent quite some time hiding there from the police. It was months later when police burst into Angelic’s home and discovered her paramour hiding there. They arrested him and transported him immediately to corrections.
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