Charles Warren Luetke, left, and attorney Samuel Hudson walk away from the bench of Judge Barry Steelman.The attorney for a 40-year-old tugboat operator charged in the death of two fishermen wants the prosecutor to reconsider pre-trial diversion for his client.
Charles Warren Luetke faces two charges of criminally negligent homicide, reckless operation of a boat and not rendering assistance after the line of barges his tugboat was pushing on the Tennessee River collided with a fishing boat that contained three men.
Richard Wilkey, 52, of Soddy-Daisy, and Elizabethton, Tenn., resident Tim Spidle, 45, died in the June 19, 2010 incident. Richard Wilkey’s nephew, David “Chris” Wilkey, survived the crash.
Luetke’s attorney, Samuel Hudson, of Dunlap, Tenn., had asked for judicial diversion for his client, who already has pleaded not guilty. Judicial diversion allows defendants without lengthy criminal records to avoid a trial and commit to community service, restitution or other probationary measures. Charges are then dismissed after the probation period.
Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Cameron Williams refused to consider diversion and, in the Thursday hearing, Hudson told Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman that Williams had not considered the diversion request adequately.