Almost five months after pleading not guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide for the crash that killed his wife, a Sherrodsville man is in jail after a probation officer said he violated conditions of his pretrial release.
46-year-old Richard L. Sickels has a June 4th jury trial scheduled in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court on charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and OVI.
The State Highway Patrol says Sickels’ blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit on Saint Patrick’s Day in 2024 when he crashed a Dodge Challenger into a ditch. His wife Jennifer Sickels was pronounced dead at the scene. He pleaded not guilty in November and was released on his own recognizance.
However, this March a probation officer said Sickels tested positive for cocaine. Judge Michael Ernest last week revoked the recognizance bond and sent Sickels to jail to be held without bail.
Sickels’s attorney, former State Rep. Brett Hillyer, has moved to have the bond reinstated. He has also been attempting to have evidence thrown out, including blood and urine samples, and in filings is questioning the legality of investigators’ searches and interviews. Hearings are scheduled for May 20th and June 3rd prior to the June 4th jury trial.
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