GENEVA — Family members of William Johns sat silently in Judge Richard Stevens’ courtroom Monday afternoon, waiting for charges in the fatal crash that killed a Geneva woman and critically injured two Geneva-on-the-Lake residents.
He was arraigned from the Ashtabula County Jail via video remote to Western County Court on a single homicide charge.
Johns is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide — a second degree felony — after he failed to stop at a stop sign at Maple Road and Route 534. Johns’ F-150 pickup collided with Tammy Phillipp’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reports.
Phillipp’s passenger, Carri Shehan, 40, died at the scene. Tammy and Fred Phillipp remain in critical condition at Cleveland MetroHealth Medical Center, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reports.
Johns was found to be intoxicated and was arrested at the scene, OHP reports.
During the video arraignment, Trooper Jared Klingensmith read the official crash report, noting charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and failure to yield charges against Johns are imminent.
Klingensmith said Johns’ blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .103. Any driver with BAC of 0.08 or higher is considered intoxicated.
Johns’ attorney, Richard Dana, said his client has just two speeding tickets on record. Johns is also a union carpenter, a 1984 Jefferson High School graduate and is engaged.
“(Johns) has no significant past criminal record,” Dana said. “In my opinion he is not a flight risk. He is taking these charges very seriously. He has hired legal representation and he is a long-standing citizen of the area.”
Though OHP requested a $50,000 bond for Johns, Stevens issued a $25,000 bond, cash or surety, “because of the second degree felony offense and because other people were injured,” he said.
Johns remains in the county jail Monday night, a deputy at the jail confirmed.
Local News
Fatal driver goes to court
He’s charged in death of Geneva woman
- Local News
-
-
Presses stopped: Updated with video
It was June 23, 1969.
-
Murder suspect kills self at mother’s grave
Madison Township police officers found the body of a murder suspect in the Alexander Harper Cemetery on Thursday afternoon, ending a day-long, multi-county manhunt.
-
Commissioners pay to get the business
Commissioners on Tuesday approved a $15,000 contract with Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County to provide business service representation on behalf of the county’s One-Stop job training center.
-
Airport takes off with a new name
A new name for the Ashtabula County Airport is winding its way through the regulatory channels.
-
Property owners must pay for meth labs in Jefferson
An ordinance requiring landowners to pay for the clean-up costs of clandestine drug labs was unanimously adopted by Village Council.
-
Elections board gets help with time-consuming tasks
A Xenia company specializing in election services will take on some time-consuming tasks that should help contain the Ashtabula County Board of Elections’ labor costs, members said.
-
Grand Valley sixth grader wins Ashtabula County Spelling Bee
James Elliott, a sixth grader at Grand Valley Middle School, clinched his win of the 29th annual Ashtabula County Area V Spelling Bee by successfully spelling the words “physique” and “daffodil.”
-
Sports, academics to come together
SPIRE Institute will expand its educational base and accept international students into its sports performance programs through a partnership with the Andrews Osborne Academy, Ted Meekma, SPIRE management team member, announced Wednesday.
-
Conneaut Chamber lauds top citizen, ‘Champions’
Nicholas Iarocci, Conneaut’s 2011 Citizen of the Year, needed plenty of gulps of water to complete his acceptance speech Tuesday night.
-
Felony charge filed in robbery
An Ashtabula woman who police said grabbed a woman’s purse inside a Conneaut supermarket late Monday afternoon faces a felony charge in Conneaut Municipal Court, according to reports.
- More Local News Headlines
-
