Saturday, March 29th, 2008
Attorneys file motions for local men charged
By Margie Wuebker
Attorneys for the driver and his passenger, both of whom face separate charges involving the March 15 accident that killed four young local men, filed paperwork in local courts Friday.
Dayton attorneys Marc Ross and Scott Calaway representing Nicholas Schwieterman, 22, 90 S. Maple St. Chickasaw, filed a motion in Mercer County Common Pleas Court seeking to preserve evidence in the case. Schwieterman reportedly was driving the car involved in the crash.
In Celina Municipal Court, attorney Eric Wilson of St. Marys, filed a written not guilty plea on behalf of Kyle Schmitmeyer, 21, 7915 Clover Four Road, Celina. Schmitmeyer faces a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice. He had been scheduled to appear Friday but the written plea canceled the hearing. A pretrial hearing is set for April 17.
Schwieterman faces 10 counts - eight felonies and two misdemeanors - in connection with the accident at the intersection of County Road 716A and Brockman Road, north of St. Sebastian. He remains incarcerated on a $1 million bond while awaiting an April 10 pretrial hearing.
Killed in the accident were Jordan M. Moeller, Jordan M. Diller, Bradley Roeckner and Jordan Goettemoeller, all members of the Marion Local High School Class of 2007.
Ross and Calaway's motion requests the 1996 Pontiac Bonneville, driven by Schwieterman and owned by his father Robert, remain in an enclosed area protected from the elements and entry by unauthorized persons.
The same request applies to the 1995 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Moeller and owned by Diller's stepfather, Don Heitbrink. An accident report from the Mercer County Sheriff's Office indicates Diller was a front-seat passenger in that car.
The attorneys also seek preservation of all physical evidence collected at the scene and all medical, biological and/or chemical evidence collected for testing. Only the drivers were tested for blood-alcohol content with Schwieterman's registering .134, nearly twice the .08 legal limit.
Other items covered in the motion include: all emergency dispatch and/or 911 calls, logs, recordings, run sheets or printouts; and all audio and video tapes, recordings, transcriptions and/or reproductions thereof including but not limited to law enforcement cruiser audio/video cameras and recording equipment.
The misdemeanor charge in municipal court against Schmitmeyer alleges he made false statements intended to mislead investigators at the accident scene and was uncooperative.
Schwieterman reportedly ran a stop sign while driving westbound on Brockman Road and struck the northbound car driven by Moeller. The crash occurred at 2:51 a.m.
If convicted of all eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence, he could face 53 years in prison, $102,000 in fines and an operator's license suspension of three years to lifetime duration.
Schmitmeyer faces a fine if convicted. He remains free after posting 10 percent of a $75,000 fine.
