By Alexandra Quilici
After two police officer testimonies, Billy Lee Cobb is being held to answer for two counts of domestic violence and one count of kidnapping from the night of October 23, 2017.
However, there was another witness besides the police officers. The first witness to be called was the alleged victim of the case. She is the long-time girlfriend of Cobb, and sustained injuries after the incident. However, after being sworn in to take the stand, she pleaded the 5th Amendment and refused to answer questions. She then took a seat in the stands to watch the preliminary hearing.
Next, Officer Chris Riggins took to the stand and detailed the events of the night. He recalled how the violence, as told by the victim, initially started in a Lowe’s parking lot. The defendant, Cobb, became angry when his phone was not connecting to wifi, and when the victim stepped in, he became irrationally upset with her.
After the altercation in the parking lot, he put her in his car (thus, the kidnapping charge) and began to drive away. The fight continued in the car ride, where more physical violence occurred. The two ended up pulling to the side of the road where he began choking her and she had trouble breathing, she later told officers.
During the fight, Cobb accused the alleged victim of “having a pimp.” When Officer Riggins arrived on the scene, he described the victim as “being covered in blood.” She had a bleeding head wound, with blood on her face, shirt, arms, and legs. She was later taken to the emergency room where her medical records indicated that she had to have several stitches, staples, and bandages.
She was released later that night, and was cleared of severe head trauma.
The defendant’s attorney noted that she never stated anywhere that she asked to be let out from the car (in an attempt to clear the kidnapping charge), and that she also was on record to having also 
hit Cobb.
The next witness, Officer Ha, received the police call from a bystander. A passing motorist drove by the street where the two were having an altercation and said it looked like “he was going to rape her.” Officer Ha made the official arrest of Cobb, where Cobb invoked his right to remain silent.
When the defense attorney questioned the officer, he asked about the physical appearance of the defendant. Officer Ha commented that there was no blood on him, and that his hands were covered in dirt. The attorney questioned how there could be no blood on him, yet the victim was “covered in blood.”
On that night, there was heavy suspicion that both the defendant and the victim were under the influence of cocaine or methamphetamine.
The defense attorney made a final plea to drop the kidnapping charge (as the victim never said she wanted to be let out the car), and to reduce the domestic violence charges to a misdemeanor (due to no severe head trauma). The People’s attorney responded that the beating had already been taking place in the parking lot, so the chance for her to escape from the car was slim, and that there were enough injuries to warrant a felony.
After hearing the witness statements and viewing the photographic evidence of the victim’s injuries, the judge decided there was enough evidence to hold Cobb to all three charges.
The victim, who refused to testify but watched the hearing, then asked for a lift of Cobb’s restraining order against him so that she could visit him in custody. While the judge was wary, he allowed for this to happen. The judge even told the victim that he suspected meth and drugs to be involved, and that she should stay away from it all, but he would allow the contact.
Cobb will be held to answer on November 27 at 8:30am in Department 9.
