SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 30, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Mason Andrew Ohms awaits a lengthy prison term after pleading guilty to charges for drunkenly running over 13-year-old Eli Mitchell.
Mitchell was in a West Jordan crosswalk on his bicycle April 26 when he was run down and killed by Ohms in his truck, according to the charges, who then fled the scene. Salt Lake City 3rd District Judge Paul B. Parker set sentencing for 4 p.m., Jan. 23, 2023 after Ohms, 50, entered his guilty pleas Monday. He pleaded guilty to automobile homicide, a 2nd-degree felony, and 3rd-degree felony leaving the scene of an accident.
Charges of obstructing justice, a 3rd-degree felony, and failure to yield the right of way, an infraction, were dismissed under terms of the plea bargain, canceling Ohms’ December trial.
Two hours after the fatal crash police said Ohms’ blood-alcohol content was .10, twice the legal limit, when officers caught up with him at his Saratoga Springs home, according to charging documents.
His court docket lists four prior DUI convictions in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 2002.
Witnesses to the crash tried to keep Ohms at the scene, saw him turn around and pass the site a second time, and witnessed him stopping nearby to pull Mitchell’s bicycle loose from his vehicle’s undercarriage.
“This information was confirmed by witnesses that provided video and still photographs as they followed the suspect,” police wrote in a probable cause statement.
Ohms has been held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail since his arrest the day of the fatality. Judge Parker has twice denied defense requests for Ohms’ bail release, most recently Nov. 16.
“This court has previously ruled there exists substantial grounds to support the charges and found by clear and convincing evidence that defendant represents a substantial danger to the community if released,” he wrote.
