November 25, 2020 at 12:41 p.m.
Stevens Point man bound over in fatal OWI accident
Stevens Point man bound over in fatal OWI accident
Christopher A. Gore is charged with homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle and homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle with a prohibited blood alcohol concentration.
According to the criminal complaint, a vehicle Gore is alleged to have been driving westbound on U.S. Highway 70 on July 12 struck an embankment and became airborne before striking a parked vehicle and coming to rest on its roof.
The other occupant of the vehicle, Corey J. Johnson, 47, of Stevens Point, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Gore was charged Sept. 9 and made his initial appearance Oct. 7 via Zoom. Judge Michael Bloom set a $25,000 signature bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Nov. 13.
At the preliminary hearing, assistant district attorney Jillian Pfeifer called Minocqua police officer Devon Gasick, who described the events at the crash scene from his arrival through when Gore was transported to the hospital by ambulance.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Dennis Melowski, Gasick said he detected an odor of intoxicants coming from Gore. However, his injuries precluded him from participating in field sobriety testing.
Pfeifer also called MPD Lt. Jason Bembenek, who testified that the state crime lab tested Gore's blood sample and determined his blood alcohol level was .239 at the time of the accident.
Following the testimony, Bloom found the state had shown probable cause that a felony had been committed and that Gore committed it. An arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 14.
If convicted of either of the class D felonies, Gore could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison with a mandatory minimum of five years.
A wrongful death civil lawsuit has also been filed in connection with the fatal accident.
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