Schroepfer gets 4-year prison term for fatal accident

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Tears filled the eyes of several people as the case against Mark Andrew Schroepfer took its final step Thursday afternoon in the courtroom of the Brown County Courthouse.

Judge Terry Dempsey sentenced Schroepfer, 23, of Sleepy Eye, to 48 months in a state prison for his involvement in a fatal, early-morning accident on July 2, 2000.

Schroepfer pleaded guilty to five of 15 original charges on Jan. 25, including one charge of criminal vehicular homicide. Two other similar charges and several other counts of criminal vehicular injury were dismissed by Dempsey in exchange for the plea.

He originally faced 13 felony counts and two gross misdemeanors after the accident, which took the live of 6-year old Wyatt Deming of Sleepy Eye. The boy's parents, Cheryl and Wade Deming, as well as his sister, 4-year old Cori, suffered severe facial and head injuries in the crash. The Demings were riding in a van driven by Aaron Christensen, 17, who received a broken femur.

Schroepfer, who received a head injury in the crash, had a .15 blood-alcohol level at the time his 1998 GMC pickup truck crossed the center line of State Highway 68, entered the opposite lane and struck the Deming van head-on.

At the sentencing, the Demings read statements expressing the effects of Wyatt's death on their lives, and Schroepfer gave a short statement.

"When my son died, a big part of me went with him," said Cheryl Deming as she fought back tears. "The sentence is not enough for him. He's never going to get what he deserves."

Schroepfer offered a reply a few moments later.

"All I can do is say 'I'm sorry.'" he said, his voice shaking. "I can't imagine the grief I've caused knowing the accident I caused. ... This will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life. I'm very, very sorry. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

The sentencing ends nearly two years of ongoing hearings and legal maneuvers.

Schroepfer's lawyers, Andrew Garvis and Richard Koch of Minneapolis, had earlier submitted a motion to dismiss a blood test and personal testimony collected by a State Trooper on the night the accident occurred, saying the trooper, Sgt. Kevin Guggisberg, violated due process by not advising Schroepfer of his rights.

Dempsey later denied the motion, saying Schroepfer wasn't in custody and wasn't under arrest at the time Guggisberg gathered the evidence.

The sentence handed down is the standard one established by state guidelines.

Brown County James Olson asked the court not to grant Koch and Garvis a downward departure, which would have reduced Schroepfer's sentence, possibly to probation and time in the Brown County Jail instead of a state institution.

Koch argued that Schroepfer was "amenable to probation and the county jail rather than prison." He said Schroepfer has no other criminal background, "works hard to be productive," is a graduate of Sleepy Eye High School and was the captain of that school's football team and has a great work ethic.

"This is a good person," Koch told Dempsey. "He was raised the right way. Good people make tragic mistakes. He has been and will always carry the memory of July 2, 2000."

Dempsey took a moment and responded, "In all the years I've been a judge, this has been one of the most difficult cases I've had to address. However, I feel the sentence is appropriate because the matter is set," adding that the court wasn't satisfied that Koch presented evidence sufficient enough for a departure from the normal sentence.

Dempsey then proceeded to read off the sentences charge by charge.

For the one count of criminal vehicular homicide, Dempsey gave Schroepfer 48 months. For the three charges of criminal vehicular injury resulting in great bodily harm, Dempsey gave Schroepfer 23, 28 and 15 months respectively and for the last charge, Schroepfer received 365 days. Schroepfer will serve the five sentences at the same time.

Dempsey also ordered Schroepfer to pay a $1,500 fine plus court fees and restitution, which will be decided in a separate hearing.

Olson, Koch and Garvis will have 30 days to submit restitution recommendations.

Dempsey reminded Schroepfer he has the right to appeal the judgment in a higher court if he decides to do so.

Schroepfer was immediately taken into custody by Brown County Sheriff Larry Pederson and head jailer Paul Wieland . They allowed him to receive several hugs from family members, who sat behind him throughout the hearing.

Schroepfer left the courtroom in tears. He begins his prison term immediately.

"There were no winners in this case," said Olson. "It was a very sad, emotional hearing. You feel sorry for the Demings, and, of course, you feel sorry for the Schroepfers. It's just a very sad situation."

Wade Deming had a different opinion.

"In this situation, for anyone, the sentence is much too lean," he said outside the courtroom after the hearing ended.

Koch and Garvis declined to comment on the sentence, as did members of Schroepfer's family.