http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/nov/11/judge-sets-status-hearing-2014-hixsshooter-re/335057/

Judge sets status hearing for 2014 Hixson shooter recently diagnosed with cancer

November 11th, 2015 by Zack Peterson

A Hixson woman accused of donning body armor and shooting up a neighborhood in December 2014 was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, her attorneys said Tuesday.

Judge Don Poole agreed Tuesday to allow a short-term house arrest for Julia Shields when she undergoes surgery, giving her 48 hours to recover under electronic monitoring. No surgery date has been set, said Assistant Public Defender Mike Little, one of her attorneys, who added Shields would need 18 weeks of chemotherapy first.

"When she recovers," Little said, "she will return to custody and get her original bond."

Shields, 46, was charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, felony evading arrest and felony reckless endangerment after a sporadic December shooting.

Police responded to her Cloverdale neighborhood Dec. 26, 2014, after several people reported she fired at their parked cars and waved a gun at neighbors as young as 8 years old. After police found her in the Stuart Heights Baptist Church parking lot in Hixson, she allegedly led them on a chase, continuing to brandish guns as she passed vehicles. Eventually officers stopped her at Cloverdale Drive and Koblan Drive, just blocks from her home and near the initial shootings. She aimed a gun at an officer, but was arrested without further incident, police reported.

On Tuesday, Poole scheduled another status hearing for Dec. 7.

I haven't seen any mention of psychiatric evaluations, drug tests, etc. It's not clear why a trial has taken so long, but trials in the US often seem to take years, so maybe it's normal.

On the larger point, it's good that the cops didn't kill her at the time. It's horrible that too many people have been killed by the cops for much less - even nothing. Parents of black sons must dread every time they go out in public.

:-(

Cheers,
Scott.