NILES Judge weighs dismissing manslaughter charge
Authorities say this is not a case of double jeopardy.
NILES -- A municipal court judge is considering arguments on whether to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge against a Warren man or send the case to the Trumbull County grand jury.
Roy J. Walls, 27, of Severn Court Southeast, is accused of causing the Jan. 15 death of 43-year-old Larry Marker of Greenville, Ohio.
Judge Thomas W. Townley did not set a decision date at Walls' preliminary hearing Wednesday.
What happened
Records show Walls and Marker were at Buffalo Wild Wings on Nov. 25, 2002, and got into an argument over auto racing.
Witnesses told police Marker started to get physical and Walls punched Marker, who was knocked unconscious when his head hit the floor.
Walls pleaded no contest to an assault charge, was fined $100 and costs and given a 180-day suspended jail sentence just five days before Marker's death.
Marker, who never regained consciousness, died of seizures and a staph infection in the brain, according to autopsy reports from the Miami County Coroner's Office in Dayton.
Police filed the involuntary manslaughter charge in May after interviewing several other witnesses and consulting with the Miami County coroner.
Police determined the additional charges could be filed without risk of double jeopardy, since assault is not an element of manslaughter, a third-degree felony.
Walls remains free on a $5,000 personal bond.