INDIANA MAN CHARGED IN 117-MPH CRASH COMPETENT FOR TRIAL
A Marion, Indiana, man accused of tearing apart a vehicle in a September 2023 117-mph crash is fit for trial, court records show.
Stuart Roane, 59, is charged with causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle with a Schedule I or II substance in his blood, a Level 5 felony, operating a vehicle while intoxicated endangerment, and reckless driving, both Class A misdemeanors.
A competency evaluation showed he can assist with his legal defense. A judge rejected a 2.5-year plea deal in January.
The impact sent a baby’s car seat flying. Everyone survived.
In January, Deputy Prosecutor Maureen Koonce said in court that a toxicology report found Roane had traces of cocaine in his system, but they couldn’t prove he was high at the time of the crash.
The mother, Amanda Wartman, told the court she took her 15-month-old daughter out for a ride to get her to go to sleep.
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Another witness said the Malibu went by “in a flash” and the crash sounded like an “explosion.” The mother was “awake” and “crying out for her baby,” but there was “no back seat…anymore,” the witness told investigators.
Other women who were checking the scene heard a baby crying and saw the car seat flipped on its side 20 feet from the car’s rear half on the grass. The child had blood on her face, mouth and ear.
A different witness told police two cars passed him — like they were “street racing” — on the U.S. 30’s left shoulder near a Jaguar dealership, before one got into the crash.
Lawyers have the option to file a new plea deal. A pretrial conference is scheduled in July.
E.C. SLAYING CONVICTION UPHELD
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld Christian Maldonado’s conviction last week for killing a former friend after a short argument.
Maldonado, 25, admitted he shot Luis Rivera, 27, dead on March 24, 2024, near W. 145th Street and Northcote Avenue in East Chicago. Rivera had just loaded his toddler son into the car.
In a 3-0 decision, Appeals Judge Mark Bailey wrote the 50-year voluntary manslaughter plea deal sentence was appropriate.
Maldonado argued the shooting was “under sudden heat” – i.e., he felt threatened and needed to defend himself, and didn’t fully understand that the victim’s family was nearby.
On the contrary, Bailey wrote that Maldonado “shot Ramirez in the face” while the man’s son was close by, before he fled. That didn’t show “any sort of restraint.”
Maldonado’s criminal record went back to age 12. While awaiting sentencing, Bailey noted Maldonado got into jail fights and “multiple rule violations.”
He can appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court. His earlier release date is in September 2061.