Jesse Whitaker guilty in 2015 alcohol-related case

UPDATE @ 4:54 p.m. (Oct. 13): Jesse Whitaker entered a guilty plea in Fairborn Municipal Court to one count of operating a motor vehicle under the influence and one count of possession and consumption while operating a motor vehicle.

He has been sentenced as follows:

*  Twenty-eight days in jail followed by 30 days on house arrest that includes an alcohol monitor.
 *  Three years of supervised community control to include drug and alcohol treatment and a $450 fine.
 *  The judge is allowing work release, which means Whitaker is to report to the Xenia City Jail on Oct. 28.
 *  His driver's license has been suspended for two years, retroactive to March 17 (the day of the charge).
 *  Whitaker will have no driving privileges until he shows proof of insurance.
 *  On the possession charge, the sentence is to run concurrently with his OVI conviction, plus a $100 fine.

* Whitaker also pleaded guilty to one count of falsification.
 * Two other charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. according to court record.

UPDATE @ 4:15 p.m. (May 5)

A judge has modified Jesse Whitaker’s bond to include requiring him to wear an alcohol monitoring device.

Fairborn Municipal Judge Beth Root gave the order during a hearing and noted that Whitaker will be required to wear the device until the court decides otherwise. If Whitaker consumes alcohol while wearing the device, he could be fined or sent to jail, according to the court.

UPDATE @ 8:58 p.m. (April 11)

A 20-year-old man convicted in a fatal crash was arrested this morning on an alcohol-related charge less than a month after he was arrested in an OVI crash.

Jesse Whitaker, 20, was arrested at 4:10 a.m. by University of Dayton police for alleged underage alcohol consumption. He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail at 4:37 a.m. and was released at 11:30 a.m., according to jail staff.

A UD spokeswoman said the university doesn’t release police reports.

Whitaker is scheduled to appear Monday in court, according to jail records.

The former Bellbrook High School student in 2012 crashed a pickup truck he was driving and killed three teen girls who were riding in his vehicle. He was 17 at the time. Speed, not alcohol, was a factor in the fatal crash that claimed his Bellbrook classmates, officials said.

Whitaker last year pleaded guilty in the vehicular manslaughter case, and was sentenced to two years probation; 300 hours of community service; and his driver’s license was suspended until he is 21.

He was arrested March 17 in Beavercreek for alleged drunken driving after he crashed his vehicle into a guardrail on the ramp from west U.S. 35 to north Interstate 675, according to Beavercreek police. Neither he nor his passenger were hurt.

He has a pretrial hearing June 1 in Fairborn Municipal Court on the misdemeanor charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Also following his arrest last month, Whitaker faces misdemeanor charges of driving under suspension, failure to control, falsification for providing his brother’s birthdate and consuming alcohol under age 21, court records show.

FIRST REPORT

A man convicted nearly three years ago of killing three teens in a car accident was arrested Tuesday night, March 17, for driving drunk, officials said Wednesday morning.

Jesse Whitaker, 20, reportedly crashed his car on the ramp from westbound U.S. route 35 to Interstate 675 north, striking the guardrail. Neither he nor his passenger was injured.

Whitaker, a former Bellbrook High School student, was given a field sobriety test before he was arrested, said Beavercreek police Capt. Eric Grile, who is in charge of the crash investigation. Grile noted that Whitaker refused to take a Breathalyzer test.

In 2012, Whitaker was convicted after the pickup truck he was driving crashed and killed three teen girls who were riding in the vehicle. He was 17 at the time.

The victims, Julianna Hawk, 14; Sophie Kerrigan, 17; and Skylar Kooken, 16, were riding inside the extended cab of the pickup truck. They were traveling on Wagner Road near Oleva Drive after midnight when the vehicle crashed into a tree. Two other students were injured.

Speed, not alcohol, was a factor in the crash, officials said. Whitaker pleaded guilty in April 2014 and sentenced to two years probation, 300 hours of community service and his license was suspended until age 21.

“Obviously, it’s disturbing that anyone’s out, operating under the influence. But it happens,” Grile said. “We’re not naive enough to think that it doesn’t. We’re fortunate in this case that it was a single vehicle crash, that he didn’t hurt himself or his passenger.

“Based on his past, one would hope that he would learn some lessons from the previous crash,” Grile continued. “Obviously, his behavior last night would indicate that he has not.”

Whitaker’s 2012 case was transferred to Franklin County when he moved to Columbus.

He now faces misdemeanor charges of DUI, driving under suspension, failure to control, falsification for providing his brother’s birthdate and consuming under the age of 21.

“He does not see the severity of the actions of driving under the influence of alcohol,” said Grile. “It’s really the fact that he was driving, and after his history, that one would expect that his behavior would have changed, and it’s disappointing to find out that it did not.”

Whitaker appeared in court Wednesday, but was released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 24.