Minutes before sentencing him to one month in jail and a five-year suspension of driving privileges, visiting Judge Everett Burton listened Monday as Josh Klaiber said he wanted to publicly apology to the family of a friend who died when the 19-year-old wrecked his car last year on Ohio 243.

Tuesday, June 13, 2000

Minutes before sentencing him to one month in jail and a five-year suspension of driving privileges, visiting Judge Everett Burton listened Monday as Josh Klaiber said he wanted to publicly apology to the family of a friend who died when the 19-year-old wrecked his car last year on Ohio 243.

"I’m very sorry for what happened," Klaiber said in a choked voice, facing a Lawrence County Common Pleas courtroom packed with his and the late Lee Roy Pauley’s family members.

Klaiber added that every night, before going to sleep, he faces what happened in the accident and has "done a lot of growing up."

Without comment, Judge Burton fined Klaiber $1,000 plus court costs, then ordered him to serve 180 days in the Lawrence County Jail.

The judge then suspended 150 days of that sentence, revoked Klaiber’s driver’s license for five years and put him on five years probation.

Burton denied a request from defense attorney Tim Merkel to modify Klaiber’s jail sentence to house arrest.

Lawrence County prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr., who consulted with Pauley’s family before the judgment, called the sentence appropriate.

"I didn’t ask for jail time but I wasn’t agreeable to probation only," Collier said. "From the beginning, we said we would defer to the judge after a serious pre-sentence investigation.

"One of the things I think the court considered in its sentence is he had a rough driving record. All things considered, it was an appropriate sentence."

Klaiber, 841 Marion Pike, Coal Grove, was indicted in December on charges of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony, and vehicular homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor, relating to the Nov. 6 traffic accident.

Early that morning, Klaiber was driving on Ohio 243 just outside Coal Grove when he apparently lost control of his car, skidded off the left side of the roadway and struck a utility pole, according to an Ohio Highway Patrol report.

Klaiber and a passenger, Christopher Friend, were transported to a Huntington, W.Va., hospital for treatment, the report stated.

Another passenger, Lee Roy Pauley III, 25, of Coal Grove, was pronounced dead shortly after arrival, the report stated.

Because of traffic accident reconstruction reports and because Klaiber admitted his involvement in the accident, the involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed by the prosecutor’s office earlier this year after a plea agreement.

Klaiber pleaded guilty to the vehicular homicide charge in April.

Monday, Pauley’s mother, Diana Pinkerman, spoke to the court before the sentencing.

"She talked about the loss and said she can forgive Josh but never forget it," Collier said.

Other family members also submitted statements to the court, he said.

"From my standpoint, this truly was an accident but at the same time there has to be some statement made with this," Collier said.

"It can’t go unpunished and even though no punishment could even begin to make things whole, something had to be done."

Many people in the community have watched the case and every event has had an influence, Collier added.

"People don’t realize how quickly things can turn from carefree to tragic," he said.

Collier added he hopes many can take that message, and one that all actions have consequences, with them.

Also at the sentencing, Merkel expressed Klaiber’s sympathy and sorrow for what had happened, saying the case had magnified the preciousness of life.

"I know a lot of times when facing judgment of the court there is expressed a desire to change behavior," he said. "In my estimation, that has already occurred."

Merkel called attention to many letters of support for Klaiber, and said he has matured and has learned to control his behavior because of what happened.

"Is it worth the price? Absolutely not," he said. "In no way, shape or form is it worth the price that has been paid but the fact remains it has occurred and it is a positive event."

Merkel asked the court to not place Klaiber in jail where nothing happens but to consider alternative productive sanctions.