Illinois man jailed on warrant in fatal July OWI crash case, due in Porter County court Thursday afternoon

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. A Glendale Heights, Ill., man charged with causing a death while driving intoxicated in Porter County in July is in the Porter County Jail and is scheduled to go before a judge at 2 p.m. Thursday, according to court and jail records.

Jeffrey Allen Keith, 41, was booked into the jail at 5:46 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, on a warrant in the case, the Porter County Sheriff's Office's Recent Bookings page shows. He was still listed on the sheriff's Who's In Jail roster Thursday morning, and the jail record lists no bond amount on any of his charges.

Prosecutors filed the case in Porter Superior Court 2 on Sept. 17, along with a probable cause affidavit and a request for a warrant, and the court ordered Keith's arrest the following day, according to the case docket on Indiana's MyCase system. The arrest order said his bond would be set at his initial hearing, which the court scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The charges

The docket lists five felony counts, each with an offense date of July 25:

• Leaving the scene of an accident, a Level 3 felony under Indiana Code 9-26-1-1.1(a)(3), the most serious count in the case.
• Causing death when operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of .08 or more, a Level 4 felony under IC 9-30-5-5(a)(1).
• Causing death when operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 4 felony under IC 9-30-5-5(a)(3).
• Causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of .08 or more, a Level 5 felony under IC 9-30-5-4(a)(1).
• Causing serious bodily injury when operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a Level 5 felony under IC 9-30-5-4(a)(3).

The sheriff's booking record lists the same counts in the jail's shorter wording, starting with "accident leave the scene felony 3" and "operating while intoxicated causing death."

In court Thursday

Keith's initial hearing is set for 2 p.m. in Porter Superior Court 2, with Jeffrey W. Clymer listed as the judicial officer, the docket shows. Gary S. Germann of the Porter County Prosecutor's Office is listed as the attorney for the state, and Michigan City attorney L. Scott Pejic filed an appearance for Keith on Sept. 21, four days after the charges were filed. The charges are accusations, and Keith is presumed innocent unless he is proven guilty in court.

Keith was booked more than seven weeks after the warrant was issued, and Thursday's hearing is the first court date the docket shows in the case.

PC360 will update this story with the bond the court sets and Keith's next court date after Thursday's hearing.