The 27-year-old man accused of shooting Grammy Award- winning musician Marc Cohn in the head during an attempted carjacking in Denver pleaded not guilty Monday to myriad charges filed in the Aug. 7 incident.
Cohn was shot after he played a sold-out show at the Denver Botanic Gardens. His road manager, Thomas Dube, was hit in the chin by the same bullet but was not seriously injured.
Joseph Yacteen, who was wanted for failing to appear in a Denver court case, allegedly had fled Regional Transportation District security officers late that August evening. He was said to have been involved in several carjacking attempts and was reportedly attempting to carjack Cohn’s vehicle when Cohn and his manager were shot.
Patricia Vail, 26, was charged with accessory to the crime for allegedly helping Yacteen.
Denver District Judge Christina Habas gave Patrick Mulligan, Yacteen’s attorney, 45 days to file motions. She also scheduled a hearing for April 3 to discuss whether prosecutors and the defense have reached a plea deal.
Mulligan said he plans to vigorously defend Yacteen, particularly against a charge of attempted first-degree murder.
In an interview on ABC’s “20/20,” Cohn, who has recovered, said that “looking back there was a sense of danger. … Something was unstable where we were. … This figure appears, and I did not process anything about this person except the gun that he was holding.”
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
