Accused Sniper Set to Plead Guilty
Court Alerts
Zachariah Blanton, 18, is expected to appear in Jackson Circuit Court today, where Judge William Vance could approve the plea agreement.
Blanton, Gaston, was scheduled to stand trial Dec. 11 on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal recklessness. His defense attorney, Bruce MacTavish, said his client will plead guilty to two amended felony charges, voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness.
A plea document was filed in Jackson Circuit Court on Friday, MacTavish said, but the agreement would not be final unless it is accepted by a judge.
Blanton is accused of firing his hunting rifle into I-65 traffic from an overpass on a Jackson County road near Seymour about 60 miles south of Indianapolis on July 23, 2006. One of those shots went through a pickup truck's windshield and killed a passenger, Jerry L. Ross, 40, New Albany. An Iowa man traveling in another pickup truck also was injured.
Blanton, who was 17 at the time, was arrested at his home two days later.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.