BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
One is charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide and faces, for now, a maximum of six months in jail.
The other, disgusted with the possibility of such a light punishment, is now charged with felonious assault on a police officer for throwing sunglasses that hit a sheriff's deputy, and could face a maximum prison term of 10 years.
"It doesn't seem right that a man can get charged with a felony for throwing a pair of sunglasses when the guy who kills my best friend walks away with murder," said Michael Riechman, 22.
Mr. Riechman's brother, Augustus Riechman, 28, of Miamitown, was arrested Tuesday after he threw his sunglasses in court in a fit of rage.
The outburst came after friends of a hit-and-run victim heard in Hamilton County Municipal Court that Jackie Watkins, a 27-year-old construction worker with a 1992 conviction for driving under the influence, is charged only with vehicular homicide, a first-degree misdemeanor.
He is accused of running over 20-year-old Aaron Morrison of Bridgetown early Sunday and fleeing the scene.
Mr. Watkins, a father of five who lists addresses in Harrison and North Fairmount, pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance Tuesday. He told the judge he thought he had struck a deer.
Judge John West set his bond payable at $500, setting off the courtroom ruckus in which three men shouted profanities and lunged at Mr. Watkins.
The brawl continued into the hallway, where deputies wrestled two men to the ground and charged them with disorderly conduct and obstructing official business, both misdemeanors. Mr. Riechman was charged later and jailed after deputies viewed a videotape. Mr. Watkins could face more serious charges if prosecutors build a stronger case. The report of his arrest by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office says he was intoxicated. Because Mr. Watkins left the scene, he was not immediately tested for alcohol.
If prosecutors can prove recklessness -- such as intoxication -- they will seek an aggravated vehicular homicide charge, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said.
Vehicular homicide carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail while aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony, carries a maximum 18-month sentence.
A tip led police to Mr. Watkins on Monday night. Authorities first found his red-and-white Ford Bronco parked outside an old girlfriend's house on Liddell Street in North Fairmount. Then they found Mr. Watkins at his sister's mobile home in Miami Township. His path crossed with Mr. Morrison's at Riverfront West Sports Complex on Harrison Avenue in Colerain Township at 2 a.m. Sunday as the night was winding down.
Mr. Morrison was heading to his car after going with friends and family to hear the band Madwater.
Sheriff's deputies said Mr. Morrison was standing 3 feet inside the white line of the roadway when Mr. Watkins' Ford Bronco struck him.
Mr. Morrison, a landscaper and father of one, would have celebrated his son Christopher's second birthday Tuesday.
Instead, his family and friends gathered for his wake that evening. His funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Dalbert & Woodruff Funeral Home, 2880 Boudinot Ave. in Westwood.
Family and friends said they'll remember him as the middle brother of three who grew up to be a generous man who loved the Bengals and his little boy.
"He loved life," Michael Riechman said. "He was a good guy -- the best friend anybody could ever have. He didn't deserve to die this way."
