Oconto man narrowly avoids state prison in case where his van struck, killed man on Oconto County S
OCONTO - An Oconto man with a history of charges related to driving under the influence narrowly avoided state prison Tuesday in connection with the death of a man who'd been walking on a dark county roadway.
Brian J. Ragen, now 60, was sentenced to 10 months in the Oconto County Jail for fifth-offense operating with a restricted controlled substance in his blood. He also was ordered to stay out of taverns and other establishments where the sale of food is not the primary business.
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Oconto County Circuit Judge Michael T. Judge indicated he strongly considered a state prison sentence for Ragen, before deciding he belonged in the county jail. But Judge said he feared Ragen would not automatically succeed under those conditions.
"What would go through your mind that you won't touch another illegal substance, ever?," Judge said, gazing at Ragen as he spoke. "Am I being naive if I put you on probation? Can I trust you?"
Ragen had been driving a van that struck and killed 63-year-old Chris Tyni of Oconto. Tyni, wearing dark clothes, had been walking in the road on a darkened stretch of Oconto County S after sunset on Nov. 21, 2019.
"It is something I wish had never happened," Ragen said in court. But, he added, "I have to live with it."
Ragen had also been charged with homicide involving a vehicle when the driver was under the influence of a controlled substance. But prosecutors dropped that charge because of extenuating circumstances: Tyni had been wearing dark clothing and witnesses said he had been walking in the middle of a traffic lane — not along the shoulder of the road — and might have also consumed alcohol.
Ragen had been cooperative with police who were investigating the crash. Ultimately, Judge on Tuesday sentenced Ragen to three years in prison followed by three years of probation, immediately stayed that sentence and ordered that Ragen spend 10 months in the county jail.
Judge said he also took into consideration that Ragen had been accused of bail jumping, though prosecutors and Ragen's defense attorney, Brad Hansen, had previously agreed that the charge would be dropped but read in.
A charge of homicide by use of a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance against Ragen was dismissed in June on a prosecutor's motion. A person convicted of operating with a restricted controlled substance can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Authorities had said in a report after the collision they did not suspect Ragen had been drinking or using drugs. But results of a blood test at the Wisconsin State Laboratory state revealed detectable levels of amphetamine, methamphetamine and THC metabolite in his bloodstream.
Prosecutor John Luetscher said Tuesday that the case had had "a strange history" that ended with a man dead because he was struck by a vehicle. Still, he said, the case merited scrutiny because drunken driving is "a plague all over the United States."
Luetscher had recommended that the court impose but stay a two-year prison sentence, impose $2,300 in fines and costs, and insist that Ragen maintain absolute sobriety.
Ragen had been convicted four times of operating while intoxicated before the fatal collision, circuit records posted online show. Luetscher said it had been 18 years since Ragen was last convicted of that offense.
Contact Doug Schneider at (920) 431-8333, or DSchneid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PGDougSchneider.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto man narrowly avoids prison in case where he struck, killed man
