43
Warren man pleads no contest in death of Howland pedestrian
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A jury trial planned for Monday in Warren Municipal Court on charges filed against Patrick M. Niess, 21, of Warren in the death of pedestrian Antoinette Ross last December has been averted by his no-contest plea.
Niess, of Edgewood Street Northeast, on Wednesday pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, a crime punishable by up to 90 days in jail and up to a $750 fine. He will be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 12.
Investigators with the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Niess was driving west on King Graves Road at 9:52 p.m. Dec. 8 when he apparently fell asleep and drove off the road and into a ditch.
His vehicle traveled about 450 more feet before coming to a stop after hitting two culverts and a road sign. But shortly after his car left the road, he hit Ross, 55, of Sanctuary Trail in Howland, who investigators say was walking along the edge of the road.
Howland police didn’t realize at the time that a pedestrian was involved in the accident. The next morning, workers on a garbage truck saw Ross’ body in the ditch and called 911. Investigators believe Niess didn’t know he hit Ross.
A Trumbull County grand jury indicted Niess on misdemeanor vehicular homicide, and the case was remanded to Warren Municipal Court with Judge Thomas Gysegem presiding.
Atty. Vic Vigliucci, Portage County prosecutor, and an assistant prosecutor in his office handled the case as special prosecutors because Warren Law Director Greg Hicks reported having a “close business and personal relationship” with the Ross family.
Vigliucci added the vehicular-manslaughter charge once he took over the case.
Vehicular manslaughter is a second-degree misdemeanor; vehicular homicide is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Niess could have been convicted on both offenses, but he would have been sentenced on only one, Vigliucci said.
In speaking about why his office agreed to allow Niess to plead guilty to the lesser charge, Vigliucci said his office spoke “extensively” with the Ross family about a plea or going to trial, and the family “was in agreement that a plea to vehicular manslaughter was acceptable.”
He added that Niess pleading guilty is an indication that he is “accepting the consequences of what he did. The question now is how is he going to pay for it.”
The Trumbull County Adult Probation Department will conduct a presentence investigation to assist the judge, but Vigliucci said he most likely will recommend jail time.