General Assembly addresses 'loophole' with bill
By NOAH BLUNDO, T-R Staff Writer

When an illegal immigrant whose driving caused the death of 42-year-old John Barr of Dover went to court in July, Tuscarawas County Prosecutor Amanda Spies found she had to drop a felony charge because the circumstances only allowed misdemeanors. Ever since, Barr’s family has been urging legislators to change the statutes.

The Ohio General Assembly took the first step toward that end Tuesday when Democratic Rep. William Healy of Canton introduced a bill to close what he and Barr’s family have called a loophole in the law. Democrats Allan Sayre of Dover and Mark Okey of Carrollton are among eight co-sponsors of the bill.

Juan Usralios, the Guatemalan immigrant who caused the accident that killed Barr, originally was charged with involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony. However, Spies later said she could have leveled the felony charge only if Usralios had been driving drunk or with a suspended license. Usralios had no license at all, and alcohol was not found to be a factor in the crash, so the charges were reduced to first-degree misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide and driving without a license, to which he pleaded no contest.

Under the proposed law, unlicensed drivers could be charged with a felony in such cases. Healy’s office confirmed by e-mail Tuesday that the bill was prompted by the June fatal accident.

“In cases such as this, I do not believe that one category of illegal driving should be treated differently than another and have introduced this legislation in order to correct this oversight that currently exists in the law,â€