21-Year Sentence In DUI Case That Claimed Life Of Teenager
Posted
Michael Anderson-manderson@timesuniononline.com
A Warsaw man will serve 21 years in prison for causing a drunk driving accident that killed a Warsaw teenager.
Judge Matthew Rentschler handed down the sentence this morning in Whitley Circuit Court.
Chaise Belcher, 26, pleaded guilty in September to one count of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and causing a death and two counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious injury.
Police say Belcher was drunk and driving his truck west on U.S. 30 after 1 a.m. April 16 near the intersection of Ind. 5 when he ran a red light and collided with a car driven by Phillip Caudill, 16, Warsaw.
Jack Burchett, 17, Warsaw, a passenger in Caudill’s car, was killed in the accident. Caudill and Burchett’s brother, Jacob Burchett, 18, Warsaw, were seriously injured.
Belcher was on probation from an OWI conviction from May 2016 at the time of the accident.
Shortly after the accident in Larwill, Belcher was arrested in Elkhart on May 15 for possession of drugs and driving while intoxicated. After that, Kosciusko County Judge David Cates revoked his bond pending the probation violation case.
The family has filed a civil action in Whitley County Circuit Court against Belcher and Caudill, seeking damages for wrongful death resulting from the accident. Caudill has filed a separate civil lawsuit against Belcher.
