Woman accused of drugging drunk men on Sixth arrested
Waking up without your wallet in a parking lot you have never been to, with only a hangover as a companion, may be the making of a good Hollywood comedy, but for twelve young males, it was a drug-induced victimization that left them penniless and clueless.
The Austin Police Department notified the public yesterday that Crystal Gail Cooley was arrested by Georgia law officials on Oct. 5. Cooley is suspected of being involved in a four-woman operation that targeted impaired males along Sixth street, intent on taking advantage of them, stealing any cash they had and exploiting their debit and credit cards.
APD Detective Brenda Bauzon said one of the women in the group would approach a man as he was closing his bar tab and slip him a drug such as a roofie. The women would then isolate the man from his friends and proceed to use his debit card on transactions at Wal-Mart, gas stations and ATMs.
The first ten incidents occurred between August and December 2008. The two most recent incidents were on Apr. 24 and 25 of this year, one of which left a man abandoned at a Motel 6 in Northwest Austin.
APD investigators were able to obtain the hotel records of the room and found that Cooley had rented it. She was then identified with the help of records in Atlanta. Because of the expensive transportation costs, Cooley will not be extradited to Texas, Bauzon said.
APD continues to investigate the incident and is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the remaining suspects who are said to be black women around 30 years old with a medium to a heavy build. Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call APD’s Financial Crimes Unit at 974-5290 or Crime Stoppers at 472-8477.
“Guys need to look out for each other the same way women do,” Bauzon said. “Watch your alcohol levels and keep an eye on your drink. Just like women shouldn’t be accepting drinks from strangers at bars — men shouldn’t, either.”
Accomplice in West Campus murder denied second trial
Laura Hall, an alleged accomplice to the 2005 murder and dismemberment of Jennifer Cave in a West Campus apartment, was denied a new trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in a decision made Wednesday.
Cave was murdered by Colton Pitonyak the night of Aug. 16, 2005. She had visited Pitonyak that night to celebrate her new employment at an Austin law firm. The two went together to Sixth Street and the next afternoon Jennifer’s mother, Sharon Cave, received notice that Jennifer had not shown up to work.
Cave’s mother visited Pitonyak’s apartment, and eventually her fiance, Jim Sedwick, entered through a window. Cave’s body was discovered in a bathtub with several knife wounds. Her hands and head were severed and enveloped within a garbage bag left beside the tub.
Hall and Pitonyak had been in communication since the morning of Aug. 17. Later that day, Pitonyak purchased the necessary items, including a hacksaw, and he and Hall fled to Mexico after the murder.
Hall was convicted of hindering Pitonyak’s apprehension and tampering with evidence. She was given a five-year sentence but was almost immediately eligible for parole since her conviction and sentencing in Sep. 2007.
The Third Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction that reversed the sentencing phase and ordered a new trial.
Both the district attorney and Hall petitioned for review in the court of criminal appeals, but neither request was granted.
Bryan Case, director of the appellate division at the district attorney’s office, said the court has 30 days to issue a mandate, which is a final judgment of the court. It will then be replaced on the docket in later November and be retried, Case said.
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