Case against three men allegedly involved in accidental shooting death goes to grand jury
UHRICHSVILLE — The case against a 36-year-old Uhrichsville man charged with involuntary manslaughter has been sent to the Tuscarawas County Grand Jury.
Dalbert "Dale" Sanders, of Herrick Street, is charged in connection with the May 15 shooting death of John Q. Bashline, II, 37, of Powhatan Point.
On Wednesday, he waived his right to have evidence presented against him in the Southern District of Tuscarawas County Court.
Judge Brad Hillyer sent the case to the grand jury. He kept Sanders' bail at $110,000, despite a request from his lawyer that he be released on his own recognizance.
More:Dalbert 'Dale' Sanders charged with involuntary manslaughter in man's shooting death
Public Defender Gerald Latanich said Sanders' codefendants Michael P. Reynolds and Dominic A. Reynolds are free on their own recognizance.
Michael Reynolds, 37, and his nephew Dominic Reynolds, 26, are both charged with tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.
The request for bail reduction
"My client does have significant ties to the community," Latanich said. "He is employed in the community. He has a residence in Uhrichsville that he's lived at for a year. He did cooperate with the sheriff's department with the investigation."
Latanich said Sanders' significant other is due to have a baby on June 29.
He said the killing was not intentional, and that the accused and the victim were friends.
The public defender said Sanders could be supervised on pretrial release by the county's Community Corrections Program, wear a location monitor, have a curfew and submit to random drug testing.
"I think with those assurances, that my client will show for all future court appearances and I do not believe that he is a threat to anybody else in the community," Latanich said.
County Prosecutor Ryan Styer objected to the request for the modfication of Sanders' bail.
"Unlike his codefendants, Mr. Sanders has a significant criminal record," he said.
That record includes carrying a concealed weapon, which was reduced to a misdemeanor, and another that was a felony, Styer said.
"He's had theft charges, DUI charges, aggravated menacing charges, possession of marijuana," the prosecutor said. "The charges that he's facing now, he has fully admitted to the facts underlying those charges. They include a mandatory three-year prison sentence."
Breakdown on the charges
The involuntary manslaughter charge against Sanders includes a specification that a gun was used in the crime. The specification carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence in the event of a conviction. Prison time of one to five years is possible for a conviction on involuntary manslaughter.
Sanders is also charged with using weapons while intoxicated, reckless homicide, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse. The reckless homicide charge also carries a three-year gun specification.
According to sheriff's Detective Lt. Adam Fisher, Sanders shot Bashline while they were practicing quick draws with a handgun. He said Bashline was driven in his own red Honda Fit to McKee and Eastport roads, in Mill Township, where he was found dead. The defendants then drove away from the site, behind Twin City Medical Center, in a pickup truck.
Bashline had a single gunshot wound to the chest, according to Sheriff Orvis Campbell.
The shooting occurred on Feed Springs Road SE in Mill Township. Campbell said the defendants described the shooting as an accident that occurred after heavy drinking.
Dominic Reynolds lives on Feed Springs Road SE in Mill Township and Michael Reynolds lives on W. Third Street in Uhrichsville.
Reach Nancy at 330-364-8402 or nancy.molnar@timesreporter.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR