By Lisa Trigg
TERRE HAUTE — A February trial date has been set for a Clay County man accused of voluntary manslaughter in the hit-and-run death of a Terre Haute man.
Joshua John Hubble, 30, Carbon, appeared via video Friday morning in Vigo Superior Court Division 6, where Judge Michael Lewis set a trial date of Feb. 16.
Hubble remains in the Vigo County jail with bail set at $250,000. He faces seven felony charges in connection with the death of Christopher Weck, 26, in a parking lot outside the Sixth Avenue Gentlemen’s Club around 3:30 a.m. Aug. 27.
An autopsy determined that Weck died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest. Police report that Hubble was driving a Chevrolet pick-up truck that ran over Weck and struck a woman standing nearby, before continuing to drive away from the scene. Hubble’s truck also ran into a house, and eventually was found at 13th Street and Maple Avenue.
The woman injured was treated at Union Hospital and released that day.
The Vigo County Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges of voluntary manslaughter, a class-A felony punishable by a range of 20-50 years in prison; as well as the class-B felony counts of causing death when driving while intoxicated and failure to stop after an accident involving death; the class-C felony of leaving the scene of a fatal accident; and the class-D felonies of criminal mischief and two counts of criminal recklessness.
A criminal history check in Vigo County on Hubble shows that in 1999 he pleaded guilty to battery resulting in bodily injury, and in 2001, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. A 2004 charge of driving while intoxicated was dismissed in 2007 after Hubble successfully completed the Drug Court program.
Hubble is being represented by court-appointed defense attorney Vernon Lorenz. A pre-trial conference date of Jan. 15 has been set in the case.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
