A young man who was caught buying beer while out on bond on charges of vehicular homicide is expected to plead guilty today for his part in a 2007 drunken driving crash that killed one and severely injured two others.

The move means that Steven Tyler Frizzell likely will not stand trial in a case that attracted so much media attention, a Hamilton County criminal judge earlier this year made the rare decision to sequester jurors.

Lee Davis, Mr. Frizzell’s defense attorney, would not disclose details of the plea agreement with the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, stating only that “both parties have reached a tentative plea agreement, and we are asking that Judge Don Poole accept it.”

Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston would not confirm or deny the plea agreement and said his office is prepared to prosecute the case at trial on Tuesday.

Mr. Frizzell, 20, faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted on the charges against him, which include one count of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault. A plea agreement in lieu of a trial, however, often involves charges being reduced and an agreed, but shorter, amount of jail time.

The charges stem from a Memorial Day 2007 accident which killed 72-year-old Robert Frizzell Sr. and injured his wife JoAnn Frizzell and family friend Ruby Arnold. The three were on their way to catch a bus for a church trip to Savannah, Ga.

The defendant and victims are not related.

The plea agreement signals the latest development in a case that has gone through some unusual twists.

In September 2007, Judge Poole lowered the bond for Mr. Frizzell to $75,000 on the condition that he not buy or drink alcohol. Yet days later, Mr. Frizzell was caught on camera buying beer at a convenience store.

Mr. Frizzell turned himself in to authorities, resulting in a new bond set so high he could not afford to make bail.

The trial originally was set for July 24, 2008. There was no plea agreement at the time, and the prosecution and defense were well into jury selection that day when the entire courthouse was evacuated after smoke was detected inside. It was quickly determined that the smoke came from burnt microwave popcorn.

But potential jurors were seen helping some of the elderly trial witnesses down the courthouse stairs during the evacuation, Mr. Davis said, prompting the trial to be canceled amid fears that the jury pool had been tainted.

In October, Mr. Davis and his law partner Bryan Hoss made their arguments for sequestering the jury, something state law requires only in cases where defendants face the death penalty.

“The tremendous risk Mr. Frizzell faces is that (the media) is going to report facts that the jury should not hear,” Mr. Hoss said, referring to his client’s bond revocation when he was caught buying beer.