Troubled ex-astronaut back in court By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer

Troubled ex-astronaut back in court By TRAVIS REED, Associated Press Writer
8 minutes ago



ORLANDO, Fla. - Former astronaut Lisa Nowak, accused of attacking a romantic rival, arrived in court Friday with a swarm of photographers snapping away as she was escorted to a private room to prepare.

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Nowak didn't speak to reporters, but her attorney said she had written her first public statement and planned to read it after the hearing.

At the hearing, attorney Donald Lykkebak said he would ask Circuit Court Judge Marc L. Lubet to throw out evidence in the case, including an interview Nowak gave to police and items found during a search of her car, and ask that she be allowed to remove a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet.

Nowak, a 44-year-old Navy pilot, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted kidnapping, battery and burglary with assault.

In an interview with detectives, she said she and Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman were vying for the affection of a shuttle captain, and she confronted Shipman in an Orlando International Airport parking lot because she wanted to know "where she stands."

She is accused of attacking Shipman with pepper spray and trying to jump into her vehicle. Police say Nowak also had a duffel bag with a steel mallet, 4-inch knife and a BB gun.

Lykkebak contends police searched Nowak's car without her permission or a warrant. He said in additional court filings that she gave the interview under duress — after being held for three hours, deprived of sleep and a phone call and unadvised of her constitutional rights. The interview persisted, Lykkebak said, despite Nowak saying "Should I have a lawyer?" three times.

Nowak wants the monitoring bracelet removed because it is bulky and interferes with her ability to exercise — a requirement for a Navy officer. It also inhibits her ability to drive, fly on a commercial airplane and monitor her children in the pool, according to the defense.

Kepler Funk, an attorney for Shipman, said he planned to fight the motion.