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Proceedings were suspended this morning in the case against Brandon Robinson in Kosciusko Superior Court III because the defense attorney became ill.
Charles A. Davis Jr. of Nappanee told the court he is suffering from an ongoing intestinal problem and provided documentation from his physician. He said the disorder occasionally flairs up but doesn't last less than 10 or more than 24 hours.
Although Davis wanted to wait until Thursday to continue the trial, Judge Joe Sutton agreed to Deputy Prosecutor Dan Nelson's suggestion that Davis' medical condition be reassessed later this morning in hopes of getting testimony under way again this afternoon. Court is tentatively scheduled to reconvene at 1 p.m.
During Tuesday's testimony, a toxicologist said that the minimum blood-alcohol level present in Robinson's system at the time of the accident, if he stopped drinking at that time, was .085 percent.
Dr. David Ackley, of the Indiana State Department of Toxicology, couldn't tell jurors hearing the case against Robinson, 18, of Warsaw, whether Robinson's blood-alcohol level was greater than .10 percent - the amount considered as intoxicated in Indiana - at the time of the accident, but did say that the level was likely higher than .099 percent. That level is what the results were of a blood-alcohol test performed on Robinson at 10:15 p.m. - more than 1-1/2 hours after the 8:28 p.m. accident in which three people were killed and two others seriously injured.
Other testimony revealed that Robinson was aware of the approaching intersection and chose not to stop at the four-way stop while heading northbound on Zimmer Road.
Robinson is being tried on three counts each of driving while intoxicated causing death and reckless homicide and two counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury. The case, which began its third day of trial today, involves the June 12 accident at the intersection of Zimmer and Crystal Lake roads in which 17-year-old Aaron Hatfield of Claypool, the driver of the other vehicle, and his passengers, Heather Florey, 16, Mentone, and Tyler Bartley, 12, Claypool, were killed. Two other passengers in Hatfield's car - Monica Hatfield, then 6 months, and Tiffany Bartley, 13, Claypool - were injured, airlifted to Fort Wayne and required hospitalization.
Although Robinson has not made eye contact beyond the table top since the trial began, he became emotional and cried quietly for more than half an hour during Tuesday afternoon's testimony when the prosecutor mentioned how three people died that night in what he previously described as the "carnage" caused by Robinson.
Davis did his best to console Robinson, who has only been his client since Friday, at which time Davis asked for and was denied a continuance in the trial date. Robinson fired his previous attorney last Tuesday.
Ackley testified Tuesday morning that toxicologists, who study the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms, believe that all humans are impaired once they reach a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent. Among those impairments, Ackley said, are slower response times to stimulus, decreased inhibitory behaviors and poorer performance of multiple task situations, including driving an automobile.
A person 6-feet tall and weighing 175 pounds, such as Robinson, Ackley said, would achieve a blood-alcohol level of .05 percent by drinking three 12-ounce beers during a one-hour time frame. The same person would have to drink between 5-1/2 and six beers to achieve a blood-alcohol level of .106 percent in one hour.
Witnesses testified Robinson drank "two or three" beers the night of the accident. When Deputy Prosecutor Dan Nelson asked Ackley to calculate the number of 22-ounce beers it would take to reach a blood-alcohol level of .10 percent in one hour, he replied 2-1/2.
"If someone said they only drank two or three beers and was .099, would they be lying?" Nelson asked.
"I would find it hard to believe," Ackley said.
Ackley told Davis that since he didn't know when the alcohol level in Robinson "peaked," the level could have been lower than .08 percent at the time of the accident. Ackley said if Robinson quit drinking at 8:28 p.m., he would have reached his peak level at 9:28 p.m., and the level lowers at a rate of .015 percent per hour.
Davis has argued that Robinson was not legally intoxicated at the time of the accident and so cannot be guilty of the drunk driving charges filed against him. He also contends that his client's actions that night were negligent, but not reckless.
Kathy Gutschow, 17, of Mentone, was a passenger in Robinson's truck the night of the accident and testified Robinson drank two or three beers, including a 22- or 32-ounce bottle he had in a paper bag when she got into his vehicle. She said she wasn't sure of the exact size of the container but knew it was less than 40 ounces.
Also testifying to the fact that Robinson was drinking that night was another passenger, 20-year-old Donald Ditton of Mentone.
Both Gutschow and Ditton, witnesses for the prosecution, said they and two others were riding around with Robinson, some of them drinking and some of them smoking marijuana prior to the accident. Both denied seeing Robinson smoke marijuana and a drug screen showed Robinson tested negative for its presence.
It was noted in the court record that Gutschow and Ditton both talked to Robinson Tuesday morning regarding the trial despite a separation-of-witnesses order in place throughout the trial. Gutschow said Robinson called them (Gutschow and Ditton reside in the same house).
During the course of the evening June 12, between 6 p.m. and the time of the accident, a stop was made at Holiday Bowl, where Robinson went inside and purchased more beer, according to testimony. One of the passengers was later dropped off at home and the other passenger, Phillip Gagnon, completed the foursome present in the truck when the collision occurred.
Robinson also stopped at his residence at 1815 Deer Trail, Warsaw, to pick up keys to a Palestine residence his family owns. At that time, Gatschow testified, Robinson came out and said his parents thought he had been drinking because an employee of Liquid Assets, where he apparently made the early alcohol purchase, had called his house about the incident. Gatschow said Robinson told his parents he bought the alcohol for a friend and wasn't drinking it. The foursome then left to go to Palestine and were headed back to Warsaw when the accident occurred.
Ditton, who was seated in the back passenger-side seat of the extended cab dually, told the court he could clearly see the intersection as Robinson's vehicle approached it at a high rate of speed. Asked why he was looking out the window, Ditton said: "It felt like we were coming up on that stop sign pretty fast. I'm a pretty paranoid person ... I don't trust nobody I'm riding with ... especially now."
Ditton said Robinson had passed a slower-moving vehicle before nearing the intersection and said Robinson said, "F--- the Bronco," as they sped past it at about 65 mph in the 50 mph speed limit zone. Ditton said Robinson then said, "F--- this stop sign, too," as he headed into the intersection.
Gutschow, who was in back-seat driver's side, said she heard words similar to that.
Robinson's truck then collided with a car driven by Aaron Hatfield which was estimated by Warsaw Sgt. Kip Shuter, an accident reconstructionist, to be traveling at 14 mph to 17 mph at the time of impact. Hatfield was westbound on Crystal Lake Road negotiating a lefthand turn onto Zimmer Road when the collision occurred. Robinson's speed at the time of impact was believed to be between 58 mph and 64 mph, according to Shuter.
Davis said Robinson's attention was diverted while he was fumbling for a CD near the floor of the truck and he looked up too late to stop at the stop sign.
Ditton and Gutschow both admitted to taking LSD prior to getting into Robinson's truck, but neither thinks the drug affected their recollection of the events of that night. The two said that after the accident Robinson couldn't figure out how to get out of the truck since his driver's door wouldn't open and they had to tell him to come out through the passenger side.
Gagnon, who is expected to testify today, fled the scene after allegedly being told by Robinson to get rid of the beer. Neither Gutschow nor Ditton heard Robinson speak to Gagnon or saw him leave the accident scene, but both said that after Gagnon left, the beer from inside the vehicle was gone, too.
Also testifying Tuesday were Mike Wilson of the Warsaw Fire Department, Judy Brown of Multi-Township Emergency Medical Service, Maria Adamczyk of the Kosciusko Community Hospital diagnostic lab and Warsaw Police Chief Craig Allebach.
Still expected on the stand for the prosecution are Tiffany Bartley, an expert from the South Bend Police Department reporting on the condition of the brakes on Robinson's truck, and the occupants of the Bronco Robinson passed before the collision occurred.
At the noon break Tuesday, Judge Joe Sutton cautioned the spectators outside the presence of the jury against talking during the course of the trial because the acoustics in the courtroom allow for even whispers to be carried.
The crowded courtroom is over its 28-seat capacity and about 10 additional chairs have been brought in to accommodate those interested in the proceedings. Among those present are family and friends of the deceased and of Robinson.
