Lawyers representing a Northern Kentucky man accused of attempting to kill police officers argued Thursday that he had only been trying to escape a traffic stop, not to injure them, when he fired his gun at Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills police on June 6, 2019.
Witnesses were less than convinced. Two of them — a gas station clerk and a neighbor who lived near the scene — said they had seen Jacob Ray Julick aim his gun before shooting. Missing the officers was an accident.
Whether he had intended to hit police or distract them, Julick pulling the trigger was the opening act of a two-week manhunt. He faces two counts of attempted murder and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
According to police, Julick had been a passenger in a vehicle stopped by Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills officers on June 6. When officers pulled the vehicle over in a Speedway gas station parking lot, Julick fled on foot, firing his gun as he sprinted through the parking lot of an auto shop and out of sight.
By June 22, the next time police saw him, he’d acquired a car of his own. A patrol officer spotted his vehicle in Covington that day; a chase ensued, with Julick reaching speeds of up to 80 mph and driving on sidewalks in his attempt to escape.
Covington officers ended the chase without an arrest. Continuing to pursue him at those speeds would be too dangerous, they said at the time.
Julick was finally located in Westwood on June 25. He surrendered to police and U.S. Marshals after a four-hour standoff outside the apartment building in which he had been sheltering.
