Wes Wade thedailytimes.net
A Lenoir City man who was reportedly impaired and at fault during a
March 23 Topside Road crash that left a Maryville woman dead was
arrested Wednesday and appeared in court Thursday to face a charge
of vehicular homicide.
Chad Eric Sheffer, 41, was arrested Wednesday following his release
from the University of Tennessee Medical Center and booked into the
Blount County Jail on $50,000 bond.
He appeared Thursday afternoon before Blount County General Sessions
Judge William R. Brewer Jr. for an arraignment hearing. Brewer
appointed the Blount County Public Defender’s Office to represent
Sheffer, who told the judge he was unable to make bond.
After some discussion with Sheffer, who came and left the
courtroom with a walker, Assistant Public Defender George Waters
requested his client be fitted with a GPS monitoring device and
released.
Blount County Assistant District Attorney General J. Scott
Stuart said if Sheffer were released, the state wanted him
fitted with a transdermal alcohol-monitoring device in addition
to the GPS monitor.
“The state believes the bond is appropriately set,” Stuart said.
“We do understand there’s some medical issues.”
Waters said Sheffer would agree to both GSP and alcohol
monitoring.
Brewer said he would consider reducing bond, but Sheffer would
need both monitoring devices in place beforehand.
“I’ll consider reducing the monetary amount of bond,” Brewer
said. “Because of the nature of the charge, I think the statute
requires the SCRAM (alcohol- monitoring) device. And I’m
certainly going to require the GPS monitoring device, also.”
Brewer said the alcohol-monitoring device could be attached
immediately, but the GPS device required up-front payment of at
least a month’s worth of monitoring fees. He reset the case
until Monday afternoon to give Sheffer an opportunity to address
those costs.
Waters said if they could take care of that before Monday,
he would inform Stuart and the judge of that development.
Sheffer had been at UT Medical Center since a March 23 crash
in which police said he crossed the center line on Topside
Road near West Old Topside Road and collided head-on with
another vehicle.
The driver of that other vehicle, 28-year-old Maryville
resident Kristy M. Strickland, died in the crash, police
said.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol, which investigated the crash,
said Sheffer had been drinking.