St. Clair County judge laments loss of innocent life during reckless homicide hearing
In noting the loss of “two innocent people” killed in a crash in East St. Louis, a St. Clair County judge Thursday ordered a man charged in connection with the crash to remain in the county jail.
Zachary Carpenter, 23, of East St. Louis faces two counts of reckless homicide, two counts of failure to report an accident involving death and one count of unlawful use of a weapon-machine gun, according to court records.
During a pre-trial detention hearing for Carpenter, Associate Judge Sara L. Rice ordered that Carpenter remain in custody until his trial.
Marilyn Hill, 60, and Willie Bufford, 73, both of Cahokia Heights, died on Feb. 9 in a crash in the 3500 block of Bond Avenue, authorities said.
Carpenter drove a Ford Fusion at a “high rate of speed” on Bond Avenue and crashed into a Honda Civic Hill and Buffod were in, according to the charging documents. Illinois State Police investigated the crash.
St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Derek Smith told Rice that a Cahokia Heights police officer had responded to a call about the Ford Fusion and another vehicle driving recklessly. The officer said the Fusion turned onto Bond Avenue and then “T-boned” the Honda Civic, Smith said.
After the crash, Carpenter ran from the scene and an officer followed him.
During the pursuit, Carpenter shot himself in the leg, Smith said.
Carpenter told the police officer, “I’m hit,” Smith said.
A Glock handgun was found about 10 feet away from Carpenter.
Carpenter was taken to a hospital for his wound and he remained there until he was booked into the St. Clair County Jail on Wednesday.
Patrick Sullivan, a part-time public defender for St. Clair County, represented Carpenter in the hearing. He told Rice that the police officer cited by Smith did not have his emergency lights activated on his car. He also said Carpenter had previously been shot in another incident and that he was “scared” he was being chased by a third party.
Sullivan told the judge that Carpenter would not be a flight risk because he has a “bullet in his leg” and uses a wheelchair. He wasn’t transported to the courthouse due to his injury and participated in the detention hearing via online video.
Sullivan argued that Carpenter, a father of five who has a full-time job with a St. Louis hospital, should be released from jail prior to his trial due to the severity of his wound.
Rice said she was not basing her ruling on whether Carpenter was a flight risk but instead on whether he is a real and present danger to society.
Rice noted that Carpenter was driving fast enough to create enough velocity to kill two people and that he was armed with a gun. She also said that Carpenter was on probation for a felony firearm charge at the time of the crash.
Illinois ended its cash bail system on Sept. 18. Since then, Illinois judges have conducted detention hearings to determine whether someone charged with serious offenses should remain in jail before their trial.
