OCALA - Victor Walker, the 22-year-old man accused of firing an assault rifle at two Marion County deputies on Monday afternoon, said the charges are “just accusations” and he wasn’t the shooter.But a woman also making a first court appearance via video link from the jail Tuesday morning said she was in the car with him and it was him.Walker wore heavier restraints than most inmates Tuesday morning. He was wearing shackles on his legs and a chain around his waist to restrain his arms. He had bandages on his left and right elbows and was dressed in a red jail uniform.With short, sharp, snappy answers, Walker told County Judge Steven G. Rogers that he needed an appointed lawyer. He said he had been out of work for about a month.Walker told the judge he had been “barely making it.”Rogers appointed a public defender to represent him and ordered him held without bail on several serious charges, including two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of attempted murder on a law enforcement official.Outside of the jailhouse courtroom after his first appearance, Walker at first denied interview requests by reporters.Later he said: “These are just accusations.” Walker said he wasn’t the one who shot at the deputies.Katy Radney was at the jail, too, charged with violating her probation for retail theft. Radney said she was in the Nissan Altima with Walker just before the shooting and said she saw him do it.However, the Sheriff's Office account appears to indicate Walker may have traveled some distance after letting her out of the care when the shooting occurred.She knows Walker from Ohio, Radney said, and all the people in the Nissan – Walker, her, her fiancé Allen Butler and their 5-month-old son – had come to Marion County from Ohio on April 7.She and her family had been at her mother’s house in Florida Highlands on Monday when Walker called. They were getting together to discuss their return to Ohio.During the drive, Walker failed to stop at a four-way stop sign. That was when a deputy pulled them over, she said.Walker gave the deputy a false name, something like “Jeremy,” Radney said. And the deputy soon called for backup.As the second deputy’s car was coming around the corner, Walker sped away.Radney said she and her fiancé screamed at him, telling him to let them out. After a couple of blocks, she said, he stopped and let them leave the car.Then, Radney said, she saw Walker fire five or six shots at the deputies. A Sheriff's Office report indicates 19 casings were found from an AK-47.Radney said she had not known Walker might have violent tendencies and said she’s mad at him for putting her family’s lives in danger.

WORLD TRADE CENTER - PART FOUR