Ohio officers plead not guilty in man's death

DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — Two central Ohio sheriff’s deputies and a state patrolman have pleaded not guilty to charges that they improperly dealt with an intoxicated man who was later hit and killed by a car.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that attorneys for the Delaware County deputies and the Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper entered their pleas Wednesday. They are charged with being derelict in their duties, a misdemeanor.

Reports said deputies Derek Beggs and Christopher Hughes found Uriel Juarez Popoca drunk in his truck in a median on Interstate 71 July 28. The deputies didn’t arrest Popoca, nor did Trooper Sean Carpenter. Instead they took him to a Taco Bell and told him to call for a ride home.

Later he was killed by a car while walking along a road.