Recordpub.com - Man charged in death of Garrettsville officer Faces felonies for crash that killed Donovan Svab

Photo By by Steph KrellChristopher R. Jones walks out of the Portage County Courthouse in handcuffs after his arraignment Monday afternoon, July 14, 2008 in Ravenna, Ohio.

By Diane Smith
Record-Courier staff writer
A Kent man charged in the fatal collision that claimed the life of a Garrettsville police and Ohio Department of Natural Resources officer last year was in court Monday, charged with aggravated vehicular homicide.
Christopher R. Jones, 23, was the driver in a crash in August 2007. Donovan E. Svab, 37, of Mantua was killed in the crash.
Jones was served Monday with an indictment charging him with two felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, including a second degree felony charge with mandatory prison time if he is convicted and a third-degree felony. He also is facing two counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol.
Svab was on his way home from his ODNR job when the crash occurred. He left behind a wife and three children.
Porage County Common Pleas Court Judge John Enlow set a bond of 10 percent of $100,000 for Jones. Jones was still in the Portage County jail as of Monday afternoon.
Portage County Prosecutor Victor Vigluicci requested a bond of $200,000 for Jones, saying his driving record makes him "a menace to the roadways of Portage County."
He said Jones has been convicted of a dozen speeding violations since 2003 and three crashes, the third of which claimed the life of Svab, "a father of three." Before that crash, he said, Jones' car was traveling at speeds ranging from 60 miles per hour to 95 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone.
"For a 23-year-old, he has probably the worst driving record I've seen in my years," Vigluicci said.
Jones' attorney, William Lentz, said Jones has not been convicted of any serious crimes, and pointed out that his client has been recovering from injuries sustained in the crash for most of the time since the crash occurred.
"Without minimizing the impact this accident had on everyone, Chris did have serious injuries that required extensive treatment," he said. "This accident happened 11 months ago. If Chris wanted to run, he had ample opportunity to do so. Instead, he wanted to stay and answer these charges. He voluntarily turned himself in."
Trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 16 with a pretrial conference on Sept. 8.

51.	Posted by Ayn Rand July 20, 2008
	Cactus, you're sorry I took it the wrong way? You were stating that seren... is a piece of poop? Shouldn't you be coloring? I'm disgusted with the lot of you. First Chris Jones and now sereneserendipity, you're all delighted with this case. What I'm seeing is not indignation or sympathy; it's gloating. You've all convicted him without a hearing, because you want him to be guilty. You want to be angry because you're all so bored and despondent with your own miserable lives and would love nothing more than to lynch this young man to make you feel superior, to distract you from your own shortcomings. I'm sickened that you've all let yourselves be played so easily. The purpose of this article, and the sensationalism presented by the prosecution was to ensure that this boy was convicted. Because they knew they couldn't accomplish it in a fair and unbiased trial. They had to make sure that there wasn't a jury or judge in all of Portage County that wouldn't convict this young man. With Enlow up for re-election he will do everything in his power to make the public happy, it's the flaw in our democratic justice system. And for those of you too dense to understand what I'm saying. I'm not defending Chris Jones, but criticizing the predictability in the reaction from the ignorant masses. What happened to integrity and conviction? Do you all believe whatever you are told?

50.	Posted by s.swenson July 20, 2008
	I'm sure (and I'm glad) that with his driving record in and out of Portage County it will only assist the prosecution and the jury in making sure this person is held accountable for his actions. It's obvious from his driving record the only thing that slowed him down was that he is handcuffed as he should be! Once or twice, blame it on youth, a learning curve, he has used up his excuses and shall now be held accountable by a jury of his peers! Yippie!!!

46.	Posted by gucci July 18, 2008
	That punk better get used to the belly chains and a cop looking over his shoulder every day like in the picture!! Kind of like Mr. Svabs wife and children having to live without thier husband and daddy everyday. "sereneserendipity" with your mentality it probably wont be long before you join him in the joint!! What an immature and foolish post you put on here!! Prople like you are the reason our would is a liberal bleeding heart mess.

43.	Posted by southeast1990 July 18, 2008
	Informed: 2-03-05 license suspended and fine re: charge of speeding. (suspension given until limited driving privleges granted on 3-25 to 9-24) 4-3-05 licensed suspended and fine re: failure to control charge. 7-28-05 charged with driving under suspension - plead guilty to lesser charge. Also: charges of speeding 3-30-03, 7-05-03, 12-29-04, 11-22-04, 1-26-05, 2-12-05, 05-25-05, 7-28-05, 1-28-06 As I said before, Portage County is NOT the only county he was charged in.

42.	Posted by Ayn Rand July 18, 2008
	Sereneserendipity, it is apparent that you have a personal involvement in this matter and care very much for the defendant but you are conversely guilty of the same offense I have been working to stifle here. That is slinging accusations and blame when the reality of the matter is that will accomplish nothing more than perpetuating the conflict. The cause to take up, and the cause to remember is to honor the legacy and memory of Donovan Svab, and to work within our own lives to prevent further suffering. Don't you all see what the prosecution was hoping to accomplish in this article? I would imagine it's quite difficult to find an unbiased jury in portage county at this point. cactus 11 Go smoke another bowl and leave the internets to people who can read.