Fri, Nov 27 2009
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Published July 01, 2009 10:54 pm - PINEVILLE, Mo. — The mother of an Oklahoma man who allegedly was killed by a drunken driver last year in Noel says she wants the driver assessed the maximum sentence if he is convicted. Mother says she wants maximum sentence if man is convicted By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com PINEVILLE, Mo. — The mother of an Oklahoma man who allegedly was killed by a drunken driver last year in Noel says she wants the driver assessed the maximum sentence if he is convicted. Hugging a photograph of her late son, Brenda Montgomery joined other family members in watching Ricky Crase undergo his preliminary hearing Wednesday afternoon in the Associate Division of McDonald County Circuit Court. Crase, 44, already had several convictions for drunken driving before he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Montgomery’s son, 28-year-old Aaron Gillming, and his friend John Lackey. In addition to the two murder charges, Crase, of Collinsville, Okla., is charged with driving while intoxicated as a persistent offender and with operating a motor vehicle while his license was revoked in connection with the Aug. 31 crash that claimed the lives of Gillming and Lackey. Both men also were from Collinsville. A ruling on whether Crase will stand trial on those charges is expected next week. Crase was driving a truck in which the other two men were passengers when the vehicle crashed on the Yarnell Branch bridge on Highway 90 in Noel, according to court documents. Each murder charge carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison or life imprisonment upon conviction. Maximum “I want the maximum sentence,” Montgomery said after Crase’s hearing Wednesday. “I want him to be punished for taking the lives of two innocent men, one of which is my son, my only son.” McDonald County prosecutors said Crase was charged with murder, as opposed to manslaughter, because he allegedly committed the two felonies of driving while his license was revoked and driving while intoxicated. The lone witness called during the hearing Wednesday was Andrew Cummings, a former Noel deputy marshal who responded to the accident. Cummings recounted that when he arrived at the scene, Gillming and Lackey apparently were already deceased, while the driver was still conscious. He said a blood sample was drawn from Crase while he was at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin. After Cummings’ testimony, Assistant Prosecutor Sherrie Hansen introduced into evidence information about Crase’s previous convictions for driving while intoxicated. Associate Judge John LePage said he would take the evidence under advisement for one week, and then rule on whether Crase should be bound over for trial. 
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