Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Trial delayed in local quadruple fatality case
By Margie Wuebker
A new trial date has been set in the case of a Chickasaw man as Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Ingraham considers motions filed in the case.
Nicholas Schwieterman, 22, 90 Maple St., faces a five-day jury trial commencing Sept. 22. This replaces the original June 9 date set back in April.
Pretrial briefs must be filed with the court on or before Sept. 4 with a final pretrial hearing scheduled at 9:30 a.m. that day.
Schwieterman's legal team has requested modification of electronic monitoring to allow him to attend church services with family members. The motion filed June 3 states "He would like to have the benefit of spiritual guidance during current circumstances."
Dayton attorneys Scott M. Calaway and Marc T. Ross are seeking suppression of results from blood and urine tests performed on Schwieterman at Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater following the accident as well as oral and/or written statements made to authorities and evidence accessed through seizure of his wallet. They also want a reduction in bond to allow the defendant's family to pay for necessary legal measures including attorney fees, expert witness fees and scientific testing fees.
Another motion filed on May 28 requests independent testing of Schwieterman's urine sample currently stored at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus. The attorneys want an independent test to be conducted at Toxicology Associates Inc. in Columbus at their client's expense.
The urine test performed at OSU allegedly revealed the presence of cocaine and marijuana while blood work reportedly indicated a blood-alcohol content of .134 nearly twice the .08 limit.
The judge has taken the latest motions under consideration like others filed in the case.
Schwieterman faces a 16-count indictment which includes four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in the deaths of Jordan Moeller, Jordan Diller, Brad Roeckner and Jordan Goettemoeller. He remains under house arrest after his father posted $200,000 - 10 percent of the $2 million cash bond.
