Nowsch pleads not guilty in slaying of Tammy Meyers

The 19-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting Tammy Meyers pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Erich Nowsch faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and discharging a gun into a vehicle in connection with the Feb. 12 shooting of 44-year-old Meyers, who died two days later.

Family members initially said Meyers was teaching her 15-year-old daughter to parallel park at Johnson Junior High School the night she was shot.

Defense lawyers have questioned the Meyers family account of what happened the night of the shooting.

Four people — Brandon Meyers, Crystal Meyers, Khatelyn Krisztain and homicide detective Clifford Mogg — testified last week before the grand jury, according to an indictment.

On Thursday, District Judge Michael Villani set Nowsch’s trial date for May 26.

Nowsch, who police said was a gang member, was arrested in connection with what the Meyers family initially described as a road rage incident involving a stranger.

The family said Meyers and her daughter were out late for a driving lesson, and Meyers had crashed and sped away after another driver threatened her, then followed her to her home on Mount Shasta Circle and gunned her down before she could enter the house.

But Metro said there was no crash and that Tammy Meyers and her 22-year-old son, Brandon, went out looking for the vehicle she had encountered, with Brandon carrying a pistol. Later, the family acknowledged that Meyers knew Nowsch well, and had counseled him and given him money when he needed it.

As authorities investigate the slaying, they continue to search for another man thought to be the driver of the car Nowsch was riding in. His lawyers have said he does not have a driver’s license, does not routinely drive and does not own a car.

Defense attorneys, meanwhile, continue to challenge details of the investigation.

“This case is requiring a lot more investigative work than usual,” said Nowsch’s lawyer, Augustus Claus. “This one is complicated.”

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker