A 20-year-old Nelsonville man will have to wait about 10 more days before he knows whether he will be released from prison.
James Watkins appeared before Judge Alan Goldsberry on Friday regarding a judicial release motion he filed Sept. 8. Goldsberry did not immediately decide on the motion, saying he would have an answer for Watkins within 10 business days.
Watkins, who filed the motion on his own and appeared without an attorney, has been at Southeast Ohio Regional Jail since he was sentenced on March 6 on one count of tampering with evidence, one count of failure to stop after an accident and one count of vehicular homicide.
I realized that being incarcerated ain't for me
Watkins said.
His charges stem from a July 2002 incident in which Watkins' car swerved off Kimberly Road near Nelsonville and hit 31-year-old Steven Sauters of The Plains, who was walking on the road with another man. Sauters died from his injuries.
Watkins left the scene of the accident after hitting Sauters but was found by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
His sentence - an 18-month jail term with judicial release after six months and payment of the victim's funeral expenses - was part of a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office.
Watkins told Goldsberry that he wanted to get back to his son and his work at a tree service in Columbus.
I would just like to go home to my family and get back to work he said. I had a lot of time to think. I feel bad about what I did.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Colleen Flanagan said the state did not oppose judicial release after Watkins served six months in jail.
However, a friend of Sauters said he felt Watkins should not be released from prison early.
Steve was 31 years old. He had a good job said Mickey Lowery, Sauters' best friend for 15 years. He had an 11-year-old son who has no father now.
Lowery said Sauters is in an unmarked grave because of financial reasons.
After hearing both sides, Goldsberry said he wanted Watkins to undergo more evaluation. The post-sentence investigation by Timothy Adams, a probation officer, had not been completed before Watkins went to jail, and Goldsberry said he wanted Adams to talk to Watkins again before he made a ruling.
After speaking with the defendant and completing further investigation, Adams will make a recommendation to the court about the terms and conditions of a judicial release, Flanagan said.
Watkins will be held at Southeast Ohio Regional Jail until Goldsberry makes a final decision on the motion.
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