A March trial has been set for a Delaware man charged with his eighth OVI after a crash on Central Avenue last month.
David Joseph Hilt, 49, of 2000 U.S. 23 North, Lot 11, Delaware, appeared in Delaware County Common Pleas Court Thursday afternoon where he entered not guilty pleas to two counts of operating vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, third-degree felonies.
At the hearing Assistant Prosecutor Amelia Bean-DeFlumer said that this is Hilt’s eighth OVI charge stretching back to 2001. Bean-DeFlumer said Hilt’s charges included two felonies including one in 2013 in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.
Bean-DeFlumer said Hilt was lucky that he hadn’t killed anyone.
City of Delaware Police report that on Dec. 19 at approximately 9:07 p.m. a crash was reported at the intersection of East Central Avenue and Grace Street. Police learned that a 2007 Toyota Highlander struck a utility pole, snapping it and then pull onto a nearby side street.
Hilt was driving the SUV and was on scene when police arrived. However, during the investigation, police began to believe that Hilt was under the influence of alcohol. Hilt refused to take a breathalyzer test.
Hilt was then taken to the Delaware County Jail.
Bean-DeFlumer said Hilt was driving under a suspended license from the 2013 conviction. Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge David Gormley said that Hilt faces a prison sentence for violating his probation from the 2013 conviction on top of whatever potential sentence he would receive from this case.
Gormley said Hilt faces a sentence of up to 36 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,500 for each of the charges he pleaded not guilty to.
Gormley scheduled a trial for March 7 and scheduled a pretrial hearing for Feb. 13 at 10:15 a.m.
Gormley also set Hilt’s bond at $35,000.
Hilt was in the Delaware County Jail Thursday afternoon. He was indicted by a Delaware County Grand Jury on Jan. 6.
