News Release: Immediate
May 12, 2010
Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana – Prosecuting Attorney Todd J. Meyer announced today that
charges have been filed as a result of the drunk driving accident that killed one and seriously injured four others on May 8, 2010.
Joshua D. McCraw, age 21, of Lebanon, IN was charged in a ten count charging Information with having committed the following criminal acts:
Count I: Causing Death When Operating a Motor Vehicle with an Alcohol Concentration Equivalent (ACE) of .15 or More, which is a Class B Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-5(b)(1)(A)
Count II: Causing Death When Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, which is a Class C Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-5(a)(3)
Count III: Reckless Homicide, which is a Class C Felony pursuant to I.C. 35-42-1-5
Count IV: Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle with an ACE of .08 or More, which is a Class D Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-4(a)(1)
Count V: Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, which is a Class D Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-4(a)(3)
Count VI: Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle with an ACE of .08 or More, which is a Class D Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-4(a)(1)(A)
Count VII: Causing Serious Bodily Injury when Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, which is a Class D Felony pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-4(a)(3)
Count VIII: Criminal Mischief, which is a Class D Felony pursuant to I.C. 35-43-1-2(a)(1)(B)(i)
Count IX: Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person, which is a Class A Misdemeanor pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-2(b)
Count X: Operating a Vehicle with an ACE of .15 or More, which is a Class A Misdemeanor pursuant to I.C. 9-30-5-1(b)
A copy of the charging Information is attached hereto.
According to the probable cause submitted in this case by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Joshua McCraw was traveling along County Road 900 East at a recklessly high rate of speed – estimated through accident reconstruction at at least 80 mph – when his car ran a stop sign and drove 300 feet off the road crashing into the home of William and Joanne Shoemaker at approximately 65 mph. Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker were asleep at the time. Mr. Shoemaker sustained a broken arm and miraculously Mrs. Shoemaker escaped with only a few minor bruises and scratches. The accident however killed 21 year old Nikki LaBolle. Ms. LaBolle was the mother of a one year old child and the father of her child is that of the Defendant. “It just breaks my heart to know this child will go through life without her mother and will be faced with the constant reminder of her mother’s tragic death on a day in which she should otherwise be celebrating her own life and preparing to celebrate the life of the person who brought her into this world,” said prosecutor Todd Meyer. The accident took place on the child’s birthday and occurred the Saturday before Mother’s Day. Joshua McCraw’s blood alcohol level tested two times over the legal limit at .19.
If convicted on all counts the Defendant faces a maximum penalty of twenty seven years in prison and $90,000 in fines. Prosecutor Meyer went on to state: “the team of public safety officials who responded to this tragedy were teriffic and the police officers who have investigated this case and brought it to this office should be commended for their hard work and effort. Now that the case is on file with the Court this office will do everything it can to see that justice is done, that this Defendant gets convicted of these allegations and recieves a maximum penatly.”
The Defendant was released from the hospital today and was then arrested by the Boone County Sheriff’s Department. He is currently incarcerated at the Boone County Jail and will appear for an initial hearing on the charges before the Honorable Rebecca S. McClure, Judge of the Boone Superior Court II on May 13, 2010 at approximately 10:00 a.m..
This investigation is active and ongoing. The charging Information filed against the Defendant is an allegation only, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial or by guilty plea.
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INDIANA TAXPAYERS PAY TO HOUSE OUT OF STATE DRUNK
ReplyDeleteIn 1997, while riding through the backwoods of Indiana, a 20 year old Tennessee boy was pulled over by the Boone County Sheriff’s department and arrested for an OWI without bodily injury. Miles away from home, he faced and lost a Jury Trial and was sentenced to 3 years suspended and placed on probation. Upon his release, he returned home rather than living on the streets in Indiana.
Fast forward 3 years and in 2000 the boy was again arrested for DUI in Tennessee and waited extradition to Indiana for his violation of probation warrant. Indiana failed to extradite.
10 years later, in the spring of 2010, he was again arrested for a DUI and served out his time in a Tennessee County jail, upon his release he was extradited to Indiana.
His probation was revoked and he was sentenced to serve out the remainder of his sentence in an Indiana IDOC facility. After serving 14 months and attending 2 IDOC programs, he was paroled on Interstate Compact and was allowed to return to his home state of Tennessee in August 2011.
In the fall of 2011 he was again arrested for a DUI and after serving a year in a Tennessee County jail he was once again extradited to Indiana.
His parole was revoked, October 2013 and was sentenced to the remainder of his 3 year sentence.
To date, the indigent inmate has cost the taxpayers of Indiana, $48,634 for housing, $3400 in pauper based court motions and lawyer fees, $1200 in an appeals case, $1800 in extradition costs, $2100 in IDOC program fees and plans, probation and parole costs, and plans to further incur taxpayers paying for additional filing of further motions both in the State and Supreme Courts.
The now 36 year old inmate, sits in the Putnamville Correctional Facility to wait out his time until he is again released in May 2014.
Does incarceration have any impact on the root cause of his alcohol addiction? Do Indiana taxpayers not mind that this inmate has racked up to date $57,134? For the amount the taxpayers have paid to “punish” this inmate, the citizens of Indiana, not Tennessee, could have used that money to fund 78 after school programs for High Risk students or 28 new playgrounds. To put this in perspective, there are approximately 7 low medium security prisons in Indiana. Over a half of the population are serving out Felony D sentences. Out of 27,000 inmates housed in Indiana Prisons, 15,000 are serving out Felony D sentences. The total cost to house these inmates per year comes to $308,461,500 or 15,423 new school playgrounds or the ability to provide 421,395 high school students with after school programs.
During sentencing of our Tennessee boy, Judge McClure, Boone County Superior Court II stated in transcript during sentencing “I’m not concerned about the taxpayer’s money…”
I ask the citizens of Indiana... are you concerned?