Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190125
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH HUNTLEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After a quick glance at the prosecutor, Apgar approached the bench.
``Well, doggone it, he's not here,'' Apgar told Judge Kenneth E. Trabue.
Apgar's 25-year-old client was indicted last month on charges of grand larceny and statutory burglary in connection with the break-in of a Catawba Valley Drive home.
Ten handguns and about $1,200 in jewelry, appliances and other items were stolen during the October 1992 break-in, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mark Claytor said. One of the guns, a .357-caliber Magnum, turned up the following year in a New Jersey courthouse, where it was used to kill a vice detective waiting to testify in a drug case.
Two other Roanoke men are serving two-year sentences for their roles in the gun theft, but Cofske's prosecution was delayed because he was serving time in Massachusetts for armed robbery.
And now, despite a plea agreement, the case will be delayed again. Apgar phoned the prosecutor Tuesday and said his client had agreed to plead guilty to grand larceny and no contest to statutory burglary, Claytor said.
Apgar, who said he saw Cofske on Monday and spoke with him Tuesday, told the court he had expected his client to show up.
``I've been in constant contact with him, so really I'm surprised,'' the defense attorney said. ``He has an old-model vehicle, so maybe he has a good excuse.''
Trabue ordered an arrest warrant for Cofske. His $5,000 bond will be revoked.
by CNB