Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Less than two weeks before it was set to begin, the vehicular homicide trial of Ryan Swadner, the teenage driver in a 2014 crash that claimed the lives of three passengers, has been pushed to October.
Shawano-Menominee Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr. said at a hearing Thursday he was reluctantly granting a defense motion to delay the proceedings.
Attorney Nila Robinson said changes in the financial status of the Swadner family would now allow the hiring of experts in accident reconstruction and toxicology to be called by the defense.
The two-week trial was expected to start on Jan. 23. A new start date of Oct. 9 was set.
Swadner, 19, of Cecil, is accused of being under the influence of marijuana on Oct. 21, 2014, when he swerved to avoid another vehicle stopped in his path on state Highway 22 in Belle Plaine and lost control on a gravel shoulder.
The Ford Mustang he was driving crossed into the path of an oncoming sport utility vehicle and was hit broadside, according to the accident report.
Two Shawano Community High School seniors, 17-year-old Cody Borsche and 18-year-old Tyler Welch, were pronounced dead at the scene. A Bonduel High School sophomore, 15-year-old Paige Brunette, was transported to Shawano Medical Center for medical attention and later died.
District Attorney Greg Parker objected to the motion for a delay, arguing the defense has had ample time to prepare its case and that the delay would be unfair to the families of the victims.
“This has been catastrophic for these victims,” Parker told the court. “They expected justice one way or another to be served starting on Jan. 23, 2017.”
Kussel said he had to balance the rights of the victims against the rights of the defendant.
“This is a horrific case,” he said.
He said expert witnesses could help the defense on at least some of the charges.
“This is a fairly complicated felony case,” he said.
“I’m not happy that this continuance has been asked for at this time,” Kussel said, but granted the delay in the interests of a fair trial.
“I’m doing it somewhat hesitantly, but I want to make sure the constitutional rights of the defendant are maintained,” he said.
Kussel, however, denied several other defense motions, including requests to suppress Swadner’s interview with a detective while he was in the hospital and a blood draw taken from Swadner without a warrant.
Kussel ruled video and audio of the hospital interview indicate Swadner was coherent at the time, despite pain medication, and the interview was voluntary. He also said there was probable cause and exigent circumstances that necessitated the blood draw as quickly as possible.
Swadner is charged with three counts of homicide by use of a vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance and three counts of second-degree reckless homicide. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
He is also charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver marijuana and maintaining a drug trafficking place in reference to the vehicle allegedly being used to traffic marijuana.
The charges each carry a maximum 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Swadner is also facing misdemeanor counts of causing injury while under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
He is free on a $10,000 cash bond.
According to the criminal complaint, authorities found nearly 12 grams of marijuana in six plastic baggies in Swadner’s vehicle, along with the pieces of a glass pipe and a digital scale.
According to the complaint, Swadner told authorities he initially intended to loan his vehicle to Welch in exchange for marijuana on the day of the crash but later agreed to give Welch a ride.
The complaint alleges the vehicle was on its way to the state Highway 22/29 Shell station for “a narcotics transaction,” based on text messages included in the complaint that were exchanged with “Drug Customer D.”
Swadner told authorities Welch was making the drug transaction, and he was giving Welch a ride.
Lab results showing Swadner had marijuana in his system were presented at a preliminary hearing.
Robinson has suggested the trace amount of marijuana found in her client’s system could have been the result of secondhand smoke.