COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Georgia man charged with manslaughter withdrew his guilty plea on the day he was to be sentenced in Boone County.
The Columbia Daily Tribune (https://bit.ly/2jYT49j ) reports 47-year-old Anthony West withdrew the plea Monday. Circuit Judge Jodie Asel says this was the second time West didn’t admit to being reckless in a sentencing report. A previous judge didn’t accept West’s plea and recused herself from the case in December after there was no admittance to recklessness, which is required for a manslaughter plea.
County prosecutor Jessica Caldera says West was ignoring signs warning of a crash ahead as he was driving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 70 in 2015, resulting in a vehicle crash that killed 79-year-old Margaret Haile. West’s attorney Andrew Popplewell says his client was reckless because he failed to slow down despite the warning signs.
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Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, https://www.columbiatribune.com
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