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Last updated on Friday, February 1, 2013
(BLOOMFIELD) - Jason Hays was found guilty Wednesday of driving with meth in his system and causing an accident that killed 25-year-old Savannah Allen on February 15, 2012 in Eastern Greene County.
Anna Rochelle of the Greene County Daily World reports that the crash occurred around 10 a.m. about 1,800 feet west of the junction of State Roads 445 and 45, east of the entrance into the Lawrence Hollow area. Hays was eastbound in a 2008 Jeep Laredo when he allegedly crossed a double yellow line and hit Allen's 1998 Chevrolet Lumina head-on.
Allen was killed. The jury began deliberations around 4 p.m. they returned a verdict before 6 p.m.
The jury reached a guilty verdict despite not knowing the following facts, which could not be brought up during the trial:
* When Det. McDonald reviewed Hays' criminal history, he found Hays was convicted in Lawrence County on Jan. 23, 2012, of purchasing more than 3.6 grams of precursors in a day.
* And that Hays was convicted in Monroe County on Jan. 26, 2012 of purchasing more than nine grams of precursors within a 30-day period.
* And that, at the time the current case was filed, Hays was out on bond from Daviess County where he was facing two class B felony counts for dealing in methamphetamine as well as charges for possession of chemical reagents or precursors with intent to manufacture and unlawful possession of a syringe.
* And, that Det. McDonald finally found Hays when he was arrested in Greene County, in the Lawrence Hollow area, on March 30, 2012. In the probable cause filed in that case, Greene County Sheriff's Det. George Dallaire alleged that Hays was stopped when he was in the process of making meth by a "one-pot" method while driving in a vehicle and that Hays had this portable meth lab in a black duffel bag on the floor board of the vehicle. The affidavit details a long list of chemicals, precursors and equipment that Hays was allegedly carrying in the vehicle. A number of serious charges were filed against Hays. He signed a plea agreement pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit dealing in methamphetamine, a class B felony. On Nov. 14, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison with four suspended.
Hays still faces sentencing in the current case.
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