Lima resident Anyah Bagley faces an Oct. 29 trial date on charges of aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol
J Swygart | The Lima News
LIMA — A suppression hearing in the case of a Lima woman charged with driving while intoxicated and injuring two persons was continued Friday, over the objection of prosecutors, after the defendant stated she can no longer trust her court-appointed attorney.
Anyah Bagley, 21, of Lima, is charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, third-degree felonies, and two misdemeanor counts of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse as the result of May 6 traffic accident in Lima.
According to a report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Bagley was driving a Dodge Journey eastbound on state Route 81 and made a left turn onto the wrong side of McKinley Street, striking head-on a motorcycle driven by Detetri Wooten, 48, of Lima.
Wooten and a passenger were taken to local hospitals with what were reported to be serious injuries.
Friday’s planned hearing was to address issues raised by attorney Steve Chamberlain of the Allen County Public Defenders Office surrounding what he claimed to be a lack of a probable cause for Bagley’s arrest, the failure of police to administer a Miranda warning and what he said was an improperly administered field sobriety test at the crash scene.
Prior to the hearing, however, Chamberlain told the court his client wished to obtain new legal counsel. The public defender acknowledged he had mistakenly misrepresented to his client the possible penalties she faced in the wake of a plea offer from prosecutors.
Chamberlain admitted in court that he wrongly told Bagley he would attempt to negotiate a settlement that called for a sentence of probation instead of prison. Upon further review of the statutes, he realized his error.
“This was my mistake,” the defense attorney said, acknowledging that mandatory prison time is required for the offense for which his client is charged.
“She no longer trusts my advice,” Chamberlain told Allen County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Reed.
With a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 29, Reed asked Chief Public Defender Kenneth Sturgill, who was in the courtroom, if he could take over the case. Sturgill agreed but said he was left with little time to review evidence in the case prior to the state’s plea deal deadline later that day.
Reed said the suppression hearing will be held early next week and left the trial date unchanged.
Assistant Prosecutor Josh Carp strongly objected to the continuation of Friday’s hearing, saying defense attorneys have had the state’s offer, which calls for Bagley to plead guilty to one third-degree felony charge and one misdemeanor, in hand since the summer.
“Today is the day (for the suppression hearing). If the defense attorney is not ready, well, that’s unfortunate,” Carp argued to no avail.
