Decatur police officers testify in court about DUI crash that killed 17-year-old
Kevin Jay Penich, 35, sat beside his court-appointed attorney, Patrick Caver, in the courtroom of Morgan County District Judge Shelly Waters. He watched silently as Caver and the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Courtney Schellack, questioned three Decatur police officers on the witness stand.
Penich has been held without bond in the Morgan County Jail since his arrest on May 17 following an Aniah's Law hearing. According to an affidavit, he was detained after allegedly slamming his Toyota Camry into a Chevrolet Equinox driven by 17-year-old Chloe Hastings at Beltline Road and Westmead Drive Southwest. Hastings' vehicle burst into flames after the impact, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The families of both Penich and Hastings were present at the hearing.
Officer Grant Jones was the first witness to testify.
"By the time you get there, the suspect is detained in the back of the patrol car?," Schellack asked.
"That's correct," Jones replied.
Jones said he consulted with other officers who were present at the scene about conversations Penich had with them.
"They said he was slurring his words, stumbling around, and smelled of alcohol and had glassy, bloodshot eyes," Jones said.
Jones said he then spoke with Penich to get his side of the story and Penich admitted to being drunk and driving under the influence, telling him he had several beers and several shots.
Schellack then asked how compliant Penich was through the arrest process and Jones said he became "overly aggressive."
"He blew kissy faces through the bars of the patrol car and called me a b**** and asked if I was married or single," Jones said.
Jones said he had executed a search warrant to test Penich's blood but said it could be months before the results are returned. In the affidavit, it said Penich refused to perform any field sobriety tests or a breath test.
Chad Chapman was the second officer to take the stand and told Schellack that Hastings was traveling north on Beltline Road and Penich hit her vehicle in the rear and sent her in the southbound lane.
"He was traveling at a high rate of speed and appeared to break slightly before impact," Chapman said.
Chapman said video footage of the crash was obtained from a nearby business, though he did not name the location. He testified that Penich was traveling over 80 miles per hour at the time of impact and had reached approximately 111 miles per hour shortly before the crash, according to data from his vehicle's onboard computer. The speed limit on that section of Beltline Road is 45 miles per hour, according to Schellack.
Schellack then questioned Chapman about where Penich had been drinking prior to the wreck.
"He went to Alfonzo's (Pizza & Italian Restaurant) and had two beers and four shots," Chapman said. "Then he went to Logan's (Roadhouse) and had two beers and four shots, and finally to Buffalo Wild Wings, where he had two beers and four shots."
Schellack noted that Penich had posted pictures of himself drinking at Alfonzo's on Facebook earlier that day.
"He left Alfonzo's at 5 and left Logan's at 7 to head to Buffalo Wild Wings," Chapman said.
The wreck occurred shortly after 9 p.m., according to Decatur police.
Chapman said witnesses at the establishments confirmed Penich had been drinking there and that police used receipts to determine the number of drinks he consumed.
The final officer to testify, Matt Young, said he interviewed Penich at the jail on May 19.
"(Penich) said he had a high tolerance for drinking and probably had too much to drink," Young said, adding that the case remains under active investigation.
Waters concluded the hearing by finding probable cause to bind the case over to a grand jury. She said Penich will remain in custody following the court's previous decision under Aniah's Law.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
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