Judge, wife sentenced to prison
Pair gets 2 years after felony convictions
After being convicted of two felony crimes for a hit-and-skip last June, Marion Common Pleas Judge Jason Warner and his wife Julia were sentenced to two years in prison.
Jason and Julia Warner were found guilty by visiting Judge Patricia Cosgrove and each were convicted with one count of complicity to leaving the scene of an accident, a fourth-degree felony, and one count of complicity to tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony. While prosecution did recommend maximum prison sentences for both Jason and Julia, Cosgrove ruled the two will serve two years in prison concurrently. The two will be able to apply for judicial release six months from now.
Cosgrove said a major factor in this case was that both of the Warners exited the vehicle after the crash and cited multiple witness testimonies who said so.
Not only did this remove a vital piece of evidence from the scene of the crime, the Jeep, but it also prevented law enforcement from being able to conduct any blood alcohol tests to see if impaired driving was at play.
Further, Cosgrove said the fact they concealed their car in their garage and did not contact law enforcement until nine and a half hours after the crash is a key to this case.
Immediately after Cosgrove ruled her sentencing, Sam Shamansky, Jason's defense attorney, and Lisa Tome, Julia's defense attorney, said they have filed a motion to appeal this decision. Similarly to the renewed motion of acquittal that was denied, Shamansky said prosecution did not present any evidence to prove Jason was guilty of either crime.
Before sentencing, emotions were high within the courtroom. It began with special prosecutor Margret Tomaro, of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, presenting their recommended sentencing which included statements from Colton Gray, the victim of the crash, and his mother Shannon Taylor.
In the statements from Taylor and Gray, they both said they were in favor of holding the Warner's to the highest standard of the law. Taylor said the Warners left her son to die after the accident and she can't begin to imagine the turmoil he suffered, and continues to suffer. Gray, on the other hand, said his life hasn't been the same since the accident.
Of the changes in Gray's life, he said he still gets flashbacks to the night of the accident when he rides in a car. Further, his mobility skills are still hindered, he said, and noted it impacts him while doing recreational activities like playing baseball. On the night of the crash, Gray had to be mechanically removed from his car by EMS.
After prosecution finished its statements, defense called three friends of the Warners to the stand to testify in favor of community control. In these testimonies, all three friends cited the Warners are highly involved in their kids lives and active in the community.
Following this, Cosgrove asked Jason and Julia if they had statements to give before sentencing. Both Jason and Julia gave statements.
Julia's eyes filled with tears as she gave her statement to both the judge and Gray's family. In this, she apologized for the night of the crash and said she has always felt bad about her actions. She also said at the time of the accident she was not in the best state of mind due to the pandemic just beginning, attempting to teach remotely, and political protests going on at the time.
“The accident was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me,” Julia said in court. “Quite frankly, when I looked at Colton's car after being slammed by the airbag, it was just foggy. I didn't know what to do and I panicked and I left and should not have done that and I know that.”
In Jason's statement, he said he made his decision after the crash due to the mental state Julia was in. He also said he never was driving on the night of the accident and that he did not incite Julia to flee from the scene. Since the accident, Jason said he feels horrible about it and continues to lose sleep.
“I wish Colton could know how much we regret what happened that night,” Jason said in court.
bhooper@gannett.com | @_MH16