ONTARIO — The autopsy of a 42-year-old man shot dead Dec. 21 in a road-rage incident on Lexington-Springmill Road found that he had methamphetamines in his system.
In January, the Richland County grand jury failed to indict a 27-year-old Crestline man charged with voluntary manslaughter after shooting dead Andrew Westlund in Ontario on Dec. 21.
Wesley Patrick had been held in the Richland County Jail on a $1 million cash bond. He was accused of shooting Westlund once in the chest with a 9mm handgun.
According to the autopsy report, obtained by the News Journal via a public records request, cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. The toxicology report also noted, under “other significant conditions (contributing to death but not resulting in underlying causes),” that Westlund had methamphetamine in his system.
The toxicology results stated 22 ng/ml of amphetamine and 146 ng/ml of methamphetamine were found.
Ontario police held a press conference Dec. 22 to go over details of the case. Lt. Tony Grimwood said both drivers were southbound on Lexington-Springmill Road over U.S. 30 at 8:55 p.m. Dec. 21.
Earlier, Grimwood said Westlund went past Patrick’s vehicle in an SUV, leading to a confrontation.
“When the 42-year-old (Westlund) contacted the (driver of) the other vehicle, there was apparently some type of altercation,” Grimwood said.
Westlund exited his vehicle and Grimwood said Patrick told police that he stayed in his car, a Ford Focus, rolled down the window and fired a single round, the News Journal reported earlier.
The Richland County Common Pleas Court entry, dated Jan. 22, was submitted by Richland County Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher. “The motion to dismiss a case (without prejudice) was presented to the grand jury and resulted in a no bill,” the court entry said.
A “no bill” (or “no true bill”) is a legal term indicating that a grand jury has found insufficient evidence to charge a suspect with a crime. When a grand jury decides not to indict, the prosecutor cannot proceed to trial based on that evidence.
It is not a finding of innocence, but means the prosecution failed to establish probable cause, according to online information.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Autopsy shows man shot dead in road-rage incident had meth in system
Reporting by Lou Whitmire, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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