May 28, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.
Liebscher remanded to jail following alleged bond violation
Liebscher remanded to jail following alleged bond violation
According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Oneida County sheriff Grady Hartman received an anonymous report Monday afternoon that Jeffrey M. Liebscher was consuming intoxicants at a residence in Sugar Camp.
At Hartman's direction, deputies responded to the address in question (not Liebscher's home address) where they located Liebscher and three other individuals sitting in lawn chairs. Liebscher was drinking from a water bottle, according to the complaint.
The report states Liebscher would not immediately say whether he had been drinking alcohol or not, however the officers observed an odor of intoxicants and noted that Liebscher's eyes were glassy and bloodshot.
When officers asked Liebscher to submit to a preliminary breath test, Liebscher stated he wanted to call his attorney. At that point, he was arrested.
"I began placing handcuffs on Liebscher and while doing so, he stated all he had was a couple of Twisted Teas, which are a kind of alcoholic beverage," the arresting officer wrote.
While walking to the squad car, Liebscher stated "he had not consumed alcohol in eight months and the one day that he did consume alcohol, he was caught," the report states.
Liebscher was out on bond pending sentencing on a felony charge of hit and run resulting in death.
According to the criminal complaint in the underlying case, Liebscher struck a motorcycle operated by 23-year-old Sean Holtslander of St. Germain at approximately 10:15 p.m. Aug. 28, 2019 and fled the scene.
Holtslander died at the scene.
Liebscher was eventually located in Three Lakes over 11 hours after the crash. Because of the time that had passed between when the collision took place and when Liebscher was taken into custody, it was impossible for law enforcement to determine whether Liebscher was legally drunk at the time of the crash.
Since his arrest in that case, Liebscher has been free on a $1,500 cash bond with a no drink/no taverns condition. The original bond was set by Judge Michael Bloom who then recused himself from the case because he knows the defendant.
The case was later transferred to Judge Patrick O'Melia who did not change the amount of the bond but did add a condition that Liebscher must submit to a preliminary breath test when requested by law enforcement.
It was on that basis that the officers asked Liebscher to submit to a PBT at the Sugar Camp residence Monday.
According to online court records, Liebscher made his initial appearance on the felony bail jumping charge Tuesday afternoon at which time O'Melia ordered that he be remanded into custody pending sentencing.
Pursuant to a plea agreement with the state, Liebscher pled guilty Feb. 14 to one count of hit-and-run resulting in death.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, both the state and defense jointly requested a pre-sentence investigation (PSI). In terms of a sentencing recommendations, the district attorney will be bound to ask for a sentence no longer than the recommendation of the PSI investigator. The defense, however, is free to argue for a shorter sentence.
The sentencing hearing was originally set for April 20 but was later pushed back to July 30.
Liebscher faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and/or a fine of up $150,000 on the class D felony.
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