Cornelius Kirsh
COVINGTON—Cornelius Kirsh, 24, of Slidell, faces up to life in prison as a three-time multiple felony offender when he is sentenced Sept. 28 for aggravated flight from an officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and attempted aggravated obstruction of a roadway. A St. Tammany Parish jury convicted him Friday afternoon of those charges in connection with an incident last year in Slidell.
Kirsh was the driver of a sports utility vehicle that fled through a residential neighborhood at a high rate of speed on the afternoon of July 30, 2014, after a rear seat passenger shot a firearm from the vehicle. Kirsh was traveling northbound in the southbound lane, but he came to a stop when a backup officer blocked him by approaching head on.
Kirsh has two prior robbery convictions and was tried by Assistant District Attorney Nick Noriea before Judge Allison Penzato as a multiple offender, subject to stiffer penalties. Kirsh faces up to life in prison without the benefit of parole.