[ad_1]
PIERRE, SD – South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing Friday to three misdemeanor charges he faces for hitting and killing a man with his car last summer .
The Republican Attorney General did not appear at the Pierre Courthouse in South Dakota, but his attorney Tim Rensch argued on his behalf. The prosecutor noted that it is common for defendants to plead not guilty at this stage of the trial before defense lawyers have a chance to review the evidence.
In addition to misdemeanor charges, the state’s senior law enforcement official faces calls for his resignation from Republican Governor Kristi Noem and law enforcement groups.
But Ravnsborg has said he will not resign and – for now – claims he is not guilty of breaking the law on the night of September 12 when he hit a man walking on the shoulder. of a rural road. However, he could face 30 days in jail and a $ 500 fine for each felony charge: reckless driving, getting out of his lane, and operating a motor vehicle with his phone. Although prosecutors said he was not using his phone at the time of the crash, he had used it while driving about a minute before the crash.
Rensch asked for 60 days to review the evidence in the case, which the judge and prosecutors agreed to.
“In some cases there is a mountain of discovery,” Rensch told the judge. “In this case, there is a mountain range of discovery.”
He declined to comment further to reporters.
Ravnsborg, who was elected for his first term in 2018, first told authorities he believed he hit a deer or other large animal on his way home to Pierre during a Republican fundraiser . He said he searched the unlit area with a cell phone flashlight and did not realize he had killed a man – Joseph Boever, 55 – until the next day when he was returned to the scene of the accident on the 14th American near Highmore in South Dakota. .
After an investigation that lasted more than five months, prosecutors said they still had questions about the accident, but were unable to lay more serious criminal charges such as homicide in robbery or manslaughter, which could have meant years in prison.
Members of Boever’s family, including his widow Jenny Boever and his mother, traveled to Peter for the hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes. But for several minutes on Friday, the normally asleep courthouse was packed with lawyers, reporters and Boever’s family members. His widow plans to file a civil wrongful death claim against Ravnsborg for the death of her late husband.
“Jenny, the widow, just wants to make a presence,” said Boever’s cousin Nick Nemec, who was outspoken in questioning the attorney general’s account of the accident.
Nemec called Ravnsborg’s decision not to plead guilty at the start of the trial “troubling”.
“He was clearly out of his way. The skid marks on Highway 14 are still visible, ”he said. “I think he’s just as guilty as he gets.”
Emily Sovell, the Hyde County Assistant District Attorney who is the lead prosecutor, said “it is not uncommon at all” for defendants to initially plead not guilty before seeing the evidence.
Prosecutors declined to discuss details of the crash in more detail, noting they were under gag order from retired Sixth Circuit judge John Brown.
Brown issued the order last month at the request of the attorney general after Noem posted videos of investigators interviewing Ravnsborg twice after the crash. Detectives were in disbelief that Ravnsborg did not realize he had hit a man, telling him that Boever’s face smashed his windshield and that Boever’s glasses were found in his Ford Taurus after the crash .
House lawmakers had decided to start impeachment proceedings against the attorney general last month, but took a step back after the judge’s order.
Lawmakers have said they will consider whether Ravnsborg should be arraigned after the criminal case is concluded.
[ad_2]
Source link