Saturday, June 28, 1997
Grand jury clears pair in death of traveling
companion
By ROY A. JONES II / Abilene Reporter-News
COLORADO CITY - The Mitchell County grand jury has declined
to indict two men whose traveling companion was killed when he
fell from a moving vehicle on Interstate 20.
The grand jury considered negligent homicide indictments against
Marion Oscar Davis Jr., 52, of Abilene, and Clifton Green, 50,
of Odessa, but ruled there was no evidence of criminal intent
linking them to the May 1 death of Doug Vernon Sr., 55, of Odessa.
Mitchell County Sheriff Patrick Toombs said earlier the three
men had been drinking together and probably were all drunk when
Vernon fell to his death.
An autopsy subsequently revealed that at the time of his death,
Vernon had a blood alcohol level of .31 percent, more than three
times the level of presumed intoxication under Texas law.
"That's extremely high," the sheriff said, adding
that a reading of .40 percent indicates a comatose condition.
Davis and Green told investigators Vernon had been riding in
the back of the pickup while they were in the cab en route to
Abilene. They said they didn't miss him until later and didn't
know what had happened to him.
Toombs said the man may have been struck by one or more vehicles
before his body was found. Foul play was suspected after Davis
and Green were arrested in Vernon's pickup in Abilene about 12
hours later.
Investigators said the men appeared to be unaware of the accident.
Davis, who was driving when the men were arrested, was charged
with driving while license suspended, Green with being drunk in
public.
In other action, the grand jury returned five felony indictments,
two of them sealed pending arrests. Two of the unsealed indictments
were against Craig Anthony Helm, 35, of Colorado City, for possession
of cocaine, and Julie Lynn Harper, 32, of Colorado City, for prohibited
possession of food stamp benefits.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
