Bond denied for driver charged in fatal L5P crash during police chase
Mother of L5P crash victim argues against bond
The mother of the young man who was killed in a crash in Little Five Points by a woman who was allegedly fleeing from police asked a judge not to let her out on bond during a hearing on Monday. Faduma Mohamed was arrested after the crash that killed Cooper Schoenke.
ATLANTA - The woman accused of killing a teen in Little Five Points while trying to flee from a Georgia state trooper will remain behind bars.
Faduma Mohamed, 23, appeared in a DeKalb County courtroom on Monday morning as her attorney made a bid for her to be released on bond.
Ruling against her, the judge in the case said that Mohamed was a flight risk and could commit more crimes if she was released.
The backstory:
On April 14, officials with the Georgia State Patrol attempted to pull Mohamed over on Interstate 20 eastbound near Boulevard after they say they noticed her speeding and weaving through traffic.
When she failed to pull over, the trooper initiated a pursuit that exited the highway and ended with a crash in the popular Atlanta neighborhood.
According to authorities, Mohamed ran a red light, hitting 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke’s Honda. The impact pushed the car nearly a block from the point of collision, witnesses said.
Schoenke was pronounced deceased at the scene. Mohamed was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She has since been released into police custody.
Cooper Schoenke. Courtesy photo (obtained with permission)
Prosecutors played dash-cam footage from the Georgia state trooper involved in the chase, which they say shows Mohamed's SUV weaving in and out of traffic on Moreland Avenue at a high rate of speed. They say they believe she was on drugs as she ran from police.
Dig deeper:
The prosecution says that Mohamed was out on bond at the time of the chase for other felonies, and they argued against granting her bond again.
"She is absolutely at risk of committing additional felonies if granted bond as she is on bond and has been given that privilege by the court four times before this," said Ryan Patrick, Senior DeKalb County Assistant District Attorney.
Court documents obtained by FOX 5 show that Mohamed had been charged with armed robbery and kidnapping stemming from an incident in 2019.
According to the documents, the woman reportedly met up with a victim to "get some food and hang out." While in front of the Brandon Hill Condominiums on North Decatur Road, Mohamed allegedly left the car. That's when officials say five masked men approached the vehicle and forced the driver to take them to Chase Bank and withdraw money.
Faduma Mohamed, Courtesy of DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Investigators say the same situation happened with a different a little more than a month later at the apartment complex.
Mohamed was eventually arrested and charged as part of the investigation. She was released on a bond of $75,000 on Feb. 3, 2020. That bond was later reduced to $25,000. Another $25,000 bond was issued on Jan. 12, 2021.
What they're saying:
Mohamed's attorney argued that their client had shown up for other court appearances and asked for a bond of no more than $75,000.
Mohamed’s defense attorney said she was not a flight risk and deserved bond.
"She does enjoy the right of innocence until actual proof of guilt," her attorney Nelson Rhodes said.
Bond denied for driver charged in fatal L5P crash
The woman accused of killing a teen in Little Five Points while trying to flee from a Georgia state trooper will remain behind bars. Faduma Mohamed, 23, appeared in a DeKalb County courtroom on Monday morning as her attorney made a bid for her to be released on bond.
The other side:
Schoenke's mother, Kate, was in the courtroom and told the judge that Mohamed needed to stay locked up.
"She didn't have regard for anyone or anything," Kate said.
FOX 5 spoke to Kate Schoenke after the hearing. She said her Mother's Day was difficult after the loss.
"I had my daughter, that was lovely, but it was definitely missing a huge part of our life," she said.
She said she will be at every court hearing fighting for her child to make sure justice is served.
The Source: FOX 5's Tyler Fingert reported this story out of DeKalb County. Additional information was taken from court documents and previous FOX 5 reporting.