Curtis Cochran
A lawsuit filed nearly three years ago against Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran and former Deputy Charles Robinson has been dismissed with prejudice – meaning it can never be brought back before a court.
The Sept. 20 declaration by U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf throws out Swain County resident Gerry Laschober’s claims against the office, which asserted a litany of claims. The owner of Cooper Creek Trout Farm in Ela, Laschober approached The Graham Star shortly after filing the Dec. 13, 2021, lawsuit, hoping to bring a spotlight to the case. The Star reported on the facts – as presented at the time – in a five-part series spanning February and March 2022.
The case was moved to U.S. District Court in Asheville on Jan. 12, 2022, with the court dismissing Laschober’s claims against Cochran and Robinson – in their official capacities – on May 11, 2022. Counsel appeared on behalf of Laschober before the court April 26, 2023, before both defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on Dec. 30, 2023. An official hearing took place Feb. 5, with Metcalf issuing the ruling over 71/2 months later.
Among other items, Laschober’s case relied heavily on three different surveillance videos that were captured on his farm on Dec. 16, 2018; as well as two separate audio recordings of an individual named Kyle Huskey interacting with not only Cochran, but also Alan “Rocky” Sampson and Laschober.
Timeline
In October 2015, Laschober and a group of hunters had a “nighttime confrontation” on the farm property, according to the dismissal. The group included “certain Swain County deputies” and Laschober claimed Cochran later refused to give him a copy of an associated report about the incident.
On March 17, 2017, Laschober interacted with a Bryson City police officer and North Carolina State Trooper Aaron Ammons; a June 2017 incident saw Laschober confronted by Swain County deputies, who alleged Laschober would not return a hunting dog to its owner;
The case really took off following the Dec. 15, 2018, arrest of Huskey.
Charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, felonious restraint, assault on a female, resisting a public officer, possession of marijuana paraphernalia and possession of marijuana, Huskey told Swain County sheriff’s Deputy A.R. Holland that “Cooper’s Creek Gerry” had 100 pounds of explosives and wanted to pay Huskey between $10,000-$15,000. Huskey told Holland that Cochran, Deputy Doug Woodard, Ammons and Robinson were “on the list,” according to the dismissal.
Robinson later interviewed Huskey, where the latter said Laschober wanted Huskey to “take out” Cochran and Laschober showed Huskey a “back way” to Cochran’s residence. During the investigation, Huskey’s then-girlfriend Nerissa Woodard admitted to Robinson that she viewed a text message on Huskey’s phone from “Gerry” concerning explosives. Huskey told authorities the estimated wait time for such explosives was two weeks.
State Bureau of Investigation assistant special agent in charge Shannon Ashe obtained three search warrants the following day as a direct response to Huskey’s allegations. Ashe had already received a warrant to search a number believing to belong to Huskey the day prior; the Dec. 16 warrants gave officers a chance to enter Laschober’s property and bring him in for questioning, as well as search for evidence related to Huskey’s claims.
Neither Cochran nor Robinson were present when Laschober was arrested, as well as when he was questioned. The dismissal states that Laschober asserted, “Sheriff Cochran directed Swain County deputies to coerce Huskey into making statements upon which the search warrants were based, plaintiff (Laschober) has presented no factual support for that position.”
Laschober’s later contention that the warrants were unlawful also includes the accusation that Cochran and Robinson coerced Huskey into making the statements he did.
“In short, while plaintiff (Laschober) asks the court to disregard all the statements attributed to Huskey regarding plaintiff, plaintiff has not pointed to evidence that would allow the court to do so,” reads a portion of the dismissal.
Huskey has since been arrested on charges of murder, first-degree murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, conspiracy to traffick methamphetamine by possession and transportation, trafficking fentanyl and trafficking methamphetamine, in relation to a Dec. 14, 2023, shooting off Greasy Branch Road.
In the early morning incident, Virginia resident Isiah Buckley was pronounced dead on the scene after authorities were dispatched around 5:20 a.m., to the residence. A female victim who had driven Buckley from Virginia was also wounded but survived.
Another Bryson City resident, 24-year-old Chasity Marie Taylor, was arrested in the shooting and charged with trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine. Cochran said at the time that Taylor was paid $1,000 to drive Buckley to the home.