Troy park shooting: 2 plead guilty, 2 cases pending, charges dropped for 1

Woman pleads guilty to attempted aggravated murder, two men plead not guilty to same charge

TROY — The fifth person indicted in an August shooting at Troy City Park pleaded not guilty Monday in a Miami County court to attempted aggravated murder and other charges.

Two others indicted in the case — in which a 29-year-old man was shot in the chest during what police said was a drug-related incident — entered pleas during the past week in county Common Pleas Court. Charges against a fourth person were dismissed by prosecutors.

Arraigned Monday was Jesse Alexander, 29, of Piqua. He pleaded not guilty to attempted aggravated murder with a firearms specification, conspiracy and felonious assault. Bail was set at $75,000, and Alexander’s next hearing was scheduled April 10.

Pleading to charges Friday was Courtney McCarel-Kraska, 37, of Troy. She pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder with a firearms specification, conspiracy, felonious assault and tampering with records. As part of a plea agreement, a six-year prison term will be recommended at sentencing May 8.

Pleading Monday to attempted aggravated trafficking in drugs in the August incident was Todd Norris, 26, of Troy. Other charges filed against him of attempted aggravated murder, felonious assault and conspiracy were dismissed. Norris will be sentenced May 8.

Charges against Bruce Harms, 51, of Piqua, were dismissed by prosecutors, who retained the right to refile the charges. Harms had been indicted on charges of attempted aggravated murder, conspiracy and felonious assault.

Matthew Joseph, an assistant county prosecutor, said that with charges against other defendants still pending, he could not comment on the dismissal of the charges against Harms or the agreement to allow Norris to plead to the attempted trafficking charge.

The alleged shooter in the incident, Derrick Peeples, 27, of Columbus, has pleaded not guilty to attempted aggravated murder with a firearm specification, felonious assault and conspiracy. A trial in his case is scheduled for late April.

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