Earlier this week, a defense attorney asked a judge to drop criminal homicide charges in a vehicular death case while at the same time seeking bail for his client, 42-year Dennis Jay Miller of Tyrone.
Assistant DA Wade Kagarise said the move by defense attorney Thomas Dickey came as part of motions court on Monday in Blair County Court. Judge Jolene G. Kopriva did not grant the bail request because of the criminal homicide charge. Kagarise said Dickey’s motion is attempting to dismiss or limit the criminal homicide charge. Judge Kopriva has not ruled on the dismissal of the criminal homicide charge and Kagarise said Miller is not entitled to bail at the time. He and attorney Dickey were scheduled to meet on Tuesday, but did not due to a scheduling conflict for Dickey.
Kagarise said any meeting between the two is intended to discuss issues in the case and to see what the defense and prosecutors might be able to agree on ahead of any trial. He said he hoped the pre-trial motions would be disposed of in the next 45 days. He did not expect any trial to begin until at least sometime in June.
Miller was arrested after the death of 44-year-old Anna Theresa Walk on Aug. 27 on Decker Hollow Road in Snyder Township. He pled not guilty and has been held without bail since that time.
Miller was originally charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another person, DUI and other related offenses. The original charges against him were withdrawn and the charges refiled with a criminal homicide charge and an aggravated assault charge added.
Dickey objected to the addition of the criminal homicide charge before Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller during a late August court appearance. He said it was a nonbailable offense. Essentially, he argued it was being used as a way to deny bail to his client. He also indicated the refiled complaint showed nothing new that would justify the additional charges. Judge Miller noted the objection and allowed the new charges to stand.
State police said Walk was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Miller during the early morning hours of Aug. 27. Police said Miller was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol along the road. Miller and Walk were involved in an argument and Miller abruptly stopped the vehicle broadside in the middle of the road. Walk got out of the vehicle and began to walk away. Miller put the vehicle in reverse and drove the car backward and swerved toward Walk. She was hit by the vehicle and run over by it.
State police later said due to additional facts and evidence being discovered, as well as findings from the reconstruction of the accident scene, it was determined Miller’s actions were intentional, reckless and negligent versus just being accidental as had previously been alleged.
Miller was held for trial after a preliminary hearing before Judge Miller in September.
Several witnesses testified for the prosecution and were cross-examined by attorney Dickey. Among the witnesses was pathologist Harry Kamerow who conducted an autopsy on Walk.
Kamerow determined the cause of Walk’s death as multiple skull fractures that were caused by an automobile/pedestrian accident. He said the body also showed signs of abrasions, scrapes and contusions and had suffered blunt force trauma. He said, “a significant event occurred to the head.” He said the head injury was consistent with an automobile/pedestrian accident. He indicated the head injuries and other injuries could have happened at the same time or at different times. It was also revealed the pathologist had ruled the manner of Walk’s death as undetermined.
Dickey asked for a dismissal of all charges. Judge Miller ruled the charges against the suspect be bound over for trial in the Blair County Court of Common Pleas. Miller also denied a request for bail that was made at the September hearing.
After the hearing, Dickey said he was not surprised by the outcome of the hearing since prosecutors have a low burden of proof to establish a prima fascia case. He said he thought the hearing went well since testimony was introduced that was consistent with Walk getting out of the vehicle while it was moving. He said it was also revealed in court that Walk had a blood alcohol content of almost four times the legal limit. The pathologist testified Walk’s BAC was .35.
Dickey said an eyewitness indicated a body seemed to appear out of nowhere when it was hit by the vehicle. He said this could be consistent with the woman getting up off the road after having exited the vehicle. Dickey has contended his client did not run over Walk intentionally and he intended to present evidence towards that end.
