A Louisville man facing charges stemming from a DUI stop last week could end up serving 12 years in prison.
Louis O. Coleman, 27, was offered a deal through Hardin County's rocket docket program, but still must enter a guilty plea at his next court appearance March 5, according to court records. His original charges could have netted him 20 years behind bars if he was convicted at trial. Louis O. Coleman remains in jail on felony charges for allegedly assaulting an officer, trafficking drugs and driving under the influence of drugs. His multiple-felony case was moved up Wednesday to Hardin Circuit Court.
Louis O. Coleman, the son of Louisville civil rights activist the Rev. Louis Coleman, faces five felony counts, including assaulting an officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance, trafficking more than 8 ounces of marijuana and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He also has misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of drugs, resisting arrest and carrying a concealed deadly weapon.
In court Wednesday, the original charge of possession of a controlled substance was increased to a higher degree of felony crime because of the amount of crack cocaine police allegedly found in his possession. The citation for driving side-to-side was dropped.Louis O. Coleman has a criminal history dating back nearly 10 years and was on probation for drug charges when Kentucky State Police Trooper Manuel Cruz arrested him Friday. Cruz saw Coleman driving about 15 miles an hour below the posted 55 mph speed limit and began to follow him, court records show. Coleman then began to drive side to side, and Cruz stopped him for a possible DUI.
A scuffle that Coleman allegedly started left Cruz suffering minor damage to his teeth and both men scratched and bruised, court records show. A search of Coleman and his car allegedly turned up 9 grams of crack cocaine, 14½ ounces of pot, drug paraphernalia and a loaded pistol.
Coleman is being held in the Hardin County Detention Center on a bond of $50,000 full-cash or $100,000 in property.The elder Coleman, a frequent critic of police for their handling of black suspects, has declined interviews about his son's arrest.