News
Shooting Reported In Nelsonville, One Charged With Murder
By: WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
Update 10:00 a.m. –
Bond has been set for $1 million for the man who allegedly shot and killed the owner of The Mine Tavern in Nelsonville.
Taylor Allen Mills, 22, appeared Monday morning by video from the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail for his initial appearance at the Athens County Municipal Court.
Athens County Assistant Prosecutor Rob Driscoll requested the million-dollar bond because of “the nature and circumstances of the crime,” he told the court.
Driscoll said it was alleged that while Mills was at The Mine Tavern on Nelsonville’s Public Square, he was causing a disturbance and was asked to leave by the victim and owner of the bar, Timothy Koker. Mills left the bar once, only to come back again, this time “causing further difficulty” and throwing an object at a window, Driscoll said.
It was after Koker asked Mills to leave a second time that shots were fired, according to Driscoll.
Though Mills does not appear to have a prior record, the prosecutor asked for the high bond because Mills lives in Georgia. “His ties to the community are weak, if not non-existent,” Driscoll told the judge.
In Mills’ only comment during the proceedings, he contradicted that statement. “I have family here in Athens County,” he said. “I have heavy ties, my mother is from here and her family is here.”
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 30 in the case. A plea was not entered to the murder charge. Because the charge is a felony, it is expected the case will be moved to the Athens County Common Pleas Court.
Update 8:06 a.m. –
The victim in the fatal shooting at The Mine Tavern has been identified as Timothy Koker, 52, of Nelsonville.
Nelsonville police stated in a news release that Koker had been in a confrontation with the alleged shooter, Taylor Mills, 22, earlier Tuesday night.
“Upon arrival (at The Mine) officers discovered a male subject who appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound,” the release stated.
Police attempted CPR on Koker before emergency personnel arrived. Koker was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the news release.
Nelsonville Police Chief Jason Wallace told WOUB the investigation is still ongoing into the shooting. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting with the investigation.
The Athens County Sheriff’s Office, the Hocking County Sheriff’s Office, the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Buchtel Police Department assisted in surrounding a residence on Harper Street where police say Mills lived.
“The suspect refused to comply with multiple requests from police to surrender,” the release stated.
Athens County Sheriff’s Office’s Special Response Team was deployed to enter the residence. They were able to subdue Mills without injury, according to the release.
Mills remains incarcerated at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail awaiting an appearance on a charge of murder in Athens County Municipal Court.
A man is in custody on murder charges following an alleged shooting at a bar in Nelsonville.
Nelsonville Police and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office were called to The Mine Tavern at about 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday on a report of shots fired, according to police dispatchers.
After police arrived, it was reported that the alleged shooter had fled the scene.
Residents in the area of Harper Street said they heard police calling to someone named “Taylor” through a loudspeaker, asking him to come out.
Taylor Allen Mills was booked into the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail on a charge of murder by Nelsonville Police at about 4 a.m., according to the jail’s website.
Mills is scheduled to appear in Athens County Municipal Court on the charge Wednesday morning, the jail website stated.