The driver charged with two counts of vehicular homicide in the March 17 single vehicle crash that killed two Newton teens pleaded not guilty in Jasper County District Court Monday.
Joseph Dean Stoner, 19, of Newton sat expressionless before Judge Paul R. Huscher at the Jasper County Courthouse for a brief preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Judge Huscher set a pretrial date for July 25 with the full trial beginning Aug. 24 at 9:30 a.m. With his family present, Stoner entered the plea through his court appointed attorney Steven Addington.
Outside the courtroom, Stoner smiled back at his family as he was escorted to return to the Jasper County Jail. Stoner is currently being held on a $50,000 bond this morning. Addington said Monday that he did not have a comment about the case.
Stoner was arrested at 2:45 a.m. June 3, on a warrant when Newton police officers encountered him as the passenger of a vehicle during a traffic stop in the 300 block of East Fourth Street North.
The defendant could possibly face up to 50 years in prison if convicted on both counts of the indictment.
His arrest came after a two-month investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office into the crash that killed teenage brothers David and Dakota Stattleman, 16 and 14 respectively. The investigation found Stoner to be intoxicated by a controlled substance during the incident, which happened at 4:43 a.m. in the 4600 block of South 36th Avenue West near Metz. The DCI crime lab delivered the results of Stoner’s chemical test to Sheriff’s Office officials.
During the initial investigation, Sheriff’s deputies confirmed that a utility pole fell on Stoner’s pick-up after he lost control of the vehicle and collided with the structure. Stoner was able to walk to a nearby home after the collision for help. David and Dakota Stattleman were pronounced dead at the scene by the Jasper County Medical Examiner.
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Pretrial comments also began Monday in the first-degree murder charge for 43-year-old Newton resident Jay Dee Mack. At a 9:30 a.m. hearing, Mack’s full trail date on July 11 at 9:30 a.m. was confirmed by Judge Huscher.
Mack is alleged to have shot his 43-year-old Girlfriend Angie Ancer of Newton during an argument at their home at 203 E. 19th St. S. on Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010.
Mack is currently being held at the Jasper County Jail on an $850,000 bond.