Hearing vacated in vehicular homicide case

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A suppression hearing for a driver charged with vehicular homicide was vacated this week.

A journal entry filed on Wednesday in the case of Matthew G. King states a suppression hearing scheduled for June 6 has been vacated. The hearing was vacated after a motion for leave to withdraw a motion to suppress was filed Tuesday by King’s attorney James W. Skogstrom.

King, 21, was indicted in April on two counts each of aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, vehicular assault and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them stemming from a June 14, 2015 crash.

On that date, officials responded to a crash involving a westbound vehicle on state Route 296 that went off the right side of the roadway, striking an embankment and ejecting all three occupants.

The three occupants who were injured were King, Mayci Powell and Mackenzee R. Hartley.

Hartley was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, via CareFlight before being flown to Ohio State University Hospital, where she died that day.

In the original motion to suppress filed on May 10, Skogstrom moved for the court to suppress all medical documents obtained from Mercy Memorial Hospital and Miami Valley Hospital in the event that the records were obtained without first properly securing a search warrant.

The defense also asked to suppress evidence of any text messages or other wireless or electronic communications obtained by law enforcement as a result of a search of King’s phone.

In the motion for leave to withdraw motion to suppress, the defense moved to withdraw the previously filed motion stating that when the original motion was filed the defense was aware that certain evidence had been obtained by law enforcement but had not yet had the opportunity to review the search warrants and affidavits in support of those warrants.

“Subsequently, the defense has been provided with all information pertaining to the evidence secured by search warrants,” the May 24 motion states. “In reviewing those materials, the defense is satisfied that the affidavits are sufficient and warranted the issuance of the search warrants, with respect to both the medical records and the defendant’s cell phones.”

A final pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for June 27.

By Nick Walton

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Nick Walton can be reached at 937-652-1331 Ext. 1777 or on Twitter @UDCWalton.

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