Boaters receive maximum jail sentence for Pineview Reservoir incident

The Standard reported today that the boaters involved in the Pineview incident in which Huntsville resident Esther Fujimoto was killed, received the maximum jail sentence.

 Boaters receive maximum jail sentence for Pineview Reservoir incident

Colton Raines, convicted at trial in February on charges of reckless endangerment and failure to render aid, both class A misdemeanors, and obstruction of justice, a class B misdemeanor, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in Weber County Jail.

Robert Cole Boyer, convicted at the same trial as Raines, was sentenced to one year in Weber County Jail for obstruction of justice, his only charge.

Both sentences were the maximum allowed under law.

The sentencing of the two ends criminal proceedings in the Aug. 21, 2011, death of Esther Fujimoto. She bled to death from massive injuries caused by the defendants’ boat propeller as she swam the reservoir. A wrongful death lawsuit is pending.

Co-defendant Skyler Shepherd was also sentenced in January to the maximum 2 1/2 years on the same charges that Raines faced.

 Shepherd had a more active role, as he actually piloted the boat away from Fujimoto after she’d been hit.

The three men were not charged for the actual collision, considered an accident, but for failing to make any attempt to assist Fujimoto or inform authorities about her plight.
Second District Judge Ernie Jones, in announcing the sentences, said Raines showed a callous absence of caring for another human being.

He noted that Boyer had eight prior misdemeanor convictions, five involving alcohol.
In sentencing Shepherd, Jones had called him callous and spineless.

 The honorable Judge Ernie Jones threw the book at the three, although we think the book should have been a little thicker.

Skyler Shepherd found guilty on all counts in Pineview Boating Fatality

Skyler Shepherd was found guilty on all counts in the Pineview boating tragedy in which Huntsville resident Ester Fujimoto was killed in August of 2011.

Friend Colton Raines was at the controls of Shepherd's boat when they accidentally ran over Fujimoto, who was swimming.   Shepherd took over the controls, returned to Fujimoto, then fled the scene and left Fujimoto for dead.  Robert Cole Boyer was also in the boat that hit Fujimoto.

Huntsville resident Vaughn Anderson heard Fujimoto's cries for help and rowed out to assist her in his small boat.  Anderson's testimony and a 22 minute recording of his 911 call were key elements of the trial.

The Standard offers more details:

Shepherd guilty on all counts in Pineview boating death

Sentencing is set for Jan. 23 on the charges of reckless endangerment and obstruction of justice, both class A misdemeanors, and failure to render aid, a class B misdemeanor. Maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor is a year in county jail; maximum sentence for a class B is six months.

Further,

County Prosecutor Dean Saunders said more serious charges could have been filed if officers were able to take blood samples at the crime scene from Shepherd and Raines. According to testimony, Shepherd and Raines had been drinking that day and Raines had possibly been smoking marijuana.

The other two boaters will face trial in February.

Click here for more coverage of the trial.

Wethinks he got a slap on the wrist.  How about you?

Three arrested in Pineview boating death

Thanks to our faithful reader Smatguy for the tip

From the Weber County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page:

Today Weber County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested and booked three suspects regarding the August 21, 2011 Pine View death of Esther Fujimoto.

And from the Standard Examiner:

The Weber County Sheriff’s Office has arrested three people in connection with the Aug. 21, 2011, death of Pineview Reservoir swimmer Esther Fujimoto.Colton Raines, Skyler Shepherd and Robert Cole Boyer were arrested Friday .

Fujimoto died after being struck by a boat while swimming in the reservoir.

Raines and Shepherd have been booked into Weber County Jail on suspicion of reckless endangerment, obstruction of justice, and leaving the scene of a boating accident, according to a press release from the Sheriff’s Office. Boyer has been booked on suspicion of obstruction of justice.

Formal charges are expected to be filed on Monday, according to Chief Deputy County Attorney Gary Heward.

 The arrests were 7 months after the death.