Jordyn Weichert looked young and very meek as she appeared in court wearing an orange jail outfit Monday to face accusations that she was allegedly intoxicated on heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana while driving and caused an accident that killed three people and injured two others on North Whidbey Sept. 3.
Weichert, a 20-year-old Oak Harbor resident, pleaded not guilty in Island County Superior Court to three counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault.
Judge Vickie Churchill set Weichert’s bail at $500,000 after hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution.
Yet Weichert isn’t the only one being held responsible for the accident.
Last Friday, the front-seat passenger in Weichert’s Chevrolet Blazer, 22-year-old Samatha Bowling of Oak Harbor, was charged in Island County Superior Court with three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of vehicular assault.
Deputy Prosecutor David Carman said he will pursue the “driving while under the influence” prong of the vehicular homicide and vehicular assault charges for both Weichert and Bowling, based on toxicology results. There are several prongs or versions of the charges, but the DUI prong is most serious.
According to Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks, Weichert’s blood allegedly tested positive for carboxy-THC, methamphetamine and opiates. Carboxy-THC is a metabolite of THC created by the body after marijuana is consumed. The opiates found in her system could be from several drugs, including heroin.
Bowling’s blood sample allegedly tested positive for carboxy-THC and methamphetamine.
Investigators recovered suspected heroin, cocaine, marijuana and a gun at the scene of the accident.
Both Weichert and Bowling were charged in the accident because of the unusual details of the crash. Bowling was allegedly holding the steering wheel while Weichert was removing her sweater; they lost control and steered the vehicle across the centerline and into the path of an oncoming car, court documents state.
The Sept. 3 crash on Highway 20 killed two passengers in Weichert’s Blazer, 25-year-old Jacob Quistorf of Oak Harbor and 26-year-old Francis Malloy of Oak Harbor. The driver of the other car, 33-year-old Brian Wood of North Vancoucer, British Columbia, was also fatally injured.
Wood’s 31-year-old pregnant wife, Erin Wood, was seriously injured, but recovered. Bowling also suffered a hip fracture, while Weichert’s injuries were minimal.
Weichert’s attorney is Diego Vargas, a Bellevue attorney who devotes his practice exclusively on DUI, vehicular assault and vehicular homicide cases. In an unrelated appeals case, the Island County prosecutor described Vargas as “one of the state’s preeminent DUI defense attorneys.”
In court Monday, Carman argued that Weichert’s bail should be set at $1 million because she “poses a significant flight risk.” He explained that she has an uncle in Canada with a lot of money.
Vargas, on the other hand, said there’s no evidence that Weichert would flee to avoid prosecution and that bail isn’t appropriate. He said she could live with her grandmother in Oak Harbor and would surrender her passport.
Judge Churchill compromised and set Weichert’s bail at $500,000, which is still very high for Island County cases.
If convicted of the DUI prong of the charges against them, Weichert and Bowling would each face from eight years and five months to 10 years and six months in prison under the standard sentencing range.
