Accused killer pleads not guilty
<p>Johnny Glen Anthony, Jr.</p>
Johnny Glen Anthony entered pleas of not guilty to alternative charges of vehicular homicide while under the influence and negligent homicide in Montana’s 19th Judicial District Court Monday. If convicted, Anthony could face up to 30 years in prison.
The charges stem from an incident of Aug. 8, 2015, in which Anthony was allegedly driving a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that went off the Yaak River Road and crashed into a ditch. In the crash 67-year-old Libby resident Jon Reynolds was killed.
Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Jensen investigated the accident and the circumstances surrounding it. During the course of the investigation, Jensen determined Anthony had been drinking prior to the crash and that the vehicle had been traveling at an excessive rate of speed.
“Mr. Anthony stated after the ceremony, they went to the Dirty Shame like they usually do after ceremonies,” Jensen wrote in his report. “Mr. Anthony stated he remembered having a drink or two, but said he did not believe he would have consumed much alcohol because he had to work at the food trailer again that evening once he got back to Libby... Trooper Hawkins obtained the crash information which was on the airbag control module on Aug. 16, 2015. Trooper Hawkins advised me the data showed the vehicle was driving 104 miles per hour five seconds prior to the crash. Trooper Hawkins also reported the data showed the brake was not pressed at all for at least eight seconds prior to the crash.”
Blood tests conducted immediately after the accident confirmed the presence of alcohol above the legal limit in Anthony’s blood. The toxicology report attached to the complaint indicated Anthony’s blood alcohol level was .137 when tested at the hospital after the accident. Montana’s legal limit is .08.
The two charges were filed as alternative charges, meaning Anthony can be convicted on one or the other, or neither, of the charges, but not both.
Anthony’s trial has been set for the September jury term, with an omnibus hearing scheduled for April 18.