COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man charged in connection with the death of a bicyclist north of Kinderhook just over two years ago was sent to the Michigan Department of Corrections on Monday in Branch County Circuit Court.
29-year-old Jacob Daniel Ward was ordered to serve a sentence recommended by prosecutors of between two and 15 years after he entered a no contest plea to Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death.
In exchange for his plea, charges of Reckless Driving Causing Death, Moving Violation Causing Death, Use of Methamphetamine and Use of Marijuana were dismissed by Branch County Prosecutors. Also being dropped was a Habitual Offender fourth offense sentencing enhancer.
Ward was given credit for 14 days already served in jail.
He was accused of driving an S.U.V. that struck a bicycle driven by 25-year-old Era Denna Hall of Coldwater who was riding on Old U.S. 27 near Nye Road on the night of April 12, 2021. She was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
Prosecutor Zach Stempien said a news release that while the case was awaiting to go on trial in Circuit Court, numerous defense motions were filed regarding the admissibility of Drug Recognition Expert testimony and the toxicology results from the victim’s autopsy.
The Michigan Court of Appeals was also reviewing the admissibility of Drug Recognition Expert testimony in a case from another county.
Stempien says that prior to entry of the plea, the Circuit Court entered orders excluding the toxicology results of the victim and excluding any Drug Recognition Expert testimony, pursuant to a binding Court of Appeal Opinion in People vs. Bowden.
He went to say that, “even though Defendant had controlled substances in his blood, due to the passage of Recreational Marijuana and Medical Marijuana, no presumption existed that Defendant was under the influence of a controlled substance, meaning that additional evidence other than presence of a controlled substance was needed to convict the Defendant. As such, a conviction on the evidence gathered became more difficult.”
Due to a number of issues including the Defendant’s criminal history, and the circumstances of the case, Stempien felt a plea to the most seriously charged crime was appropriate.
He said, “the plea ensured a prison sentence for the Defendant and justice for the victim, although the length of incarceration may not be as long as both the Victim and this office would have desired. It is also worth noting that had a conviction been obtained on all charges, the potential sentence for Defendant would not have changed pursuant to law. All of Defendant’s sentences would have been required to be served concurrently, not consecutively, meaning they would have ran at the same time.”
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