Adams Stepner Partners Stacey Graus and Lee Metzger recently represented an individual charged with five counts of Wanton Murder.  It was a high profile case in Northern Kentucky.  The trial was streamed live nationally.  The allegations were that the client had been driving a vehicle while intoxicated and high on marijuana, that he tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone, and that he struck and killed a family of five while going 30 mph over the speed limit. 

The testimony offered by the defense presented a different story in that the Defendant, despite being over the legal limit, was not impaired, was not high on marijuana, and had been trapped in the left-hand lane because of a “road rage” incident in which another motorist would not allow him to get back into the right-hand lane after he attempted to pass.  Although the jury convicted on all five counts of Wanton Murder, they determined that an appropriate sentence would be the statutory minimum sentence on each count, to run concurrently (i.e., at the same time).  As such, the Defendant will have the opportunity for parole.  The jury could have given the Defendant a life sentence on each count, so the jury’s recommendation of a minimum sentence was significant.

Stacey Graus and Lee Metzger do not shy away from difficult cases.  They have tried numerous complex criminal and civil matters together and have a track record for obtaining optimal results for their clients.