http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/ ... starts.txt

Man Protected Friend In Cycling Accident, Prosecutors Say
Sanchez Charged With Hindering Apprehension In Death Of Brandon Haley
By Robin Lipscomb
The Morning News

BENTONVILLE -- Lazaro Lobaton may never be arrested for the day police say he slammed his speeding truck into a father of three who was cycling early one Sunday east of Siloam Springs -- and who died instantly.

Prosecutors fear he's fled the country for good.

But a friend of Lobaton's, who bought the truck and an insurance policy because Lobaton was an illegal immigrant, is facing trial in Benton County Circuit Court.

The friend is accused of lying to police and allowing Lobaton to escape.

Ramon Sanchez, 54, of Rogers faces felony charges of hindering apprehension, filing a false police report and two counts of insurance fraud. A jury trial continues today before Circuit Judge David Clinger.

"The state wants somebody to pay (for the death)," defense attorney Mauricio Herrera warned the jury. "But I ask you to separate the evidence that is relevant to these charges, weigh it and make a fair determination."

It was shortly after daybreak on July 18, 2004, when Brandon Haley, 31, set off on a regular Sunday morning bike ride with his friend Roger Holroyd of Siloam Springs.

The men rode east on a straight stretch of Arkansas 68, commonly called "Old Highway 68" after being replaced by U.S. 412.


This was a favorite riding spot since visibility was good and the pavement was open, Holroyd testified Tuesday.

They were still warming up, riding side by side, when Holroyd heard a truck approach and pedaled faster so his friend could drop into place behind him.

"Car back," he called to Haley, but it was too late.

"I heard the impact, and he and the bike were thrown past me some distance down the highway ... I got a good look at a dark, late model pickup, going fast ... the truck never slowed," Holroyd said.

Haley suffered massive head injuries. Holroyd couldn't find his breath or pulse.

A police video showed a twisted blue and white bicycle frame lying in the highway's center, with Haley's body several feet alongside -- covered by a sheet. Strewn about were a helmet, a cycling shoe, a wheel and a metal ram's head, apparently from a Dodge vehicle, testified Lt. Paul Carter of the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

Prosecutors said they plan to show that Sanchez reported the 2002 Dodge truck stolen immediately following the accident. Rogers police found the truck abandoned that night and returned it to Sanchez.

However, sheriff's deputies later examined the truck and decided it was the vehicle that hit Haley, said Stephanie McLemore, deputy prosecutor. Sanchez also filed an insurance claim, saying the truck was stolen, McLemore said. He lied on both his insurance application and claim, she said, and confessed to police.

The trial continues this morning. Sanchez speaks Spanish and is assisted by a translator.

The charges are Class D felonies, each punishable by up to six years in prison.