Sunday, February 07, 1999
Gadd enters not-guilty plea
Claims he doesn't recall events when shot fired at van
BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Just after he was arraigned Saturday on charges that he fired a handgun into a family's minivan, retired school administrator Ebbie Lee Gadd told his attorney that he doesn't remember the incident.
Mr. Gadd was more concerned with conveying his apologies to the Pleasant Run family than with raising the $100,000 cash bond that would get him out of jail, said attorney Scott Frederick. He is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center.
“Ebbie wants to get the message to them, in some way, of how sorry he is. That's all he's talked about — what these people have had to go through,” he said.
Mr. Gadd, 58, retired in 1996 from Kings Local School District, where he had been assistant superintendent for three years. He had previously served as superintendent of New Miami Schools, and worked in the Lakota School District for 14 years.
“He's dealt with families and kids his whole life,” Mr. Frederick said. “When he heard there were kids in this van, he was just mortified.”
Police said Mr. Gadd pulled his car alongside a minivan Wednesday while it was stopped for a red light at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Kemper Road. He then fired a handgun through the passenger door window, and the bullets passed through to the opposite window, police said.
Driver Pamela Devlin was cut by shattered glass. Her husband, Daniel, and their two children, ages 8 and 13, were uninjured. The family could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Mr. Gadd was arrested Wednesday night in Independence, Ky., after driving his 1994 Bonneville off Ky. 17 and crashing into a mailbox, police said. He was charged with drunken driving.
Mr. Gadd told authorities that he had no recollection of Wednesday's alleged events. He did not even remember deciding to leave his home on Elk Court, Mr. Frederick said.
Saturday, he pleaded not guilty to four counts of felonious assault with a weapon.
Mr. Frederick said his client will be examined by a physician or psychologist. The attorney said he did not know whether Mr. Gadd had a history of memory loss or related illness.
“There may be a defense involving ... his lack of remembering as well as his lack of intent to cause any harm,” Mr. Frederick said.
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