Habitual Offender Enhancement Could Add 20 Years To Drunk Driver's Sentence

By Mike Perleberg Rocky McMurray. Photo by Dearborn County Sheriff's Department. (Dearborn County, Ind.) – A man accused of causing a fatal drunk driving crash could face far more time behind bars if convicted of a new habitual offender enhancement. Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecutor Lynn Deddens announced Thursday that her office has filed a habitual offender sentencing enhancement against Rocky McMurray. McMurray, 48, of Aurora, was involved in a January 24 head-on crash on Sparta Pike which killed Moores Hill husband and father Steven Ahaus, 49. Indiana State Police troopers said McMurray’s blood-alcohol content was more than double the legal driving limit. Prosecutors said during McMurray's initial court hearing January 30 that he was convicted of manslaughter in Kentucky in 2005 for causing another wreck which claimed a man’s life. McMurray's multiple previous OWI convictions in Indiana were mentioned, too. Following the Ahaus wreck, McMurray was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Resulting in Death (level 4 felony), Reckless Homicide (level 5 felony), and Operations a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person (class A misdemeanor). A conviction on those charges alone would have brought a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. The new sentencing enhancement added this week would allow another six to 20 years to be added against McMurray. McMurray remains in jail at the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center on a bond of $1 million surety and $250,000 cash. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for March 7. RELATED STORIES: $1M Bond For Accused Drunk Driver; Deputy Prosecutor Says Not First Fatal Crash Driver In Fatal Dearborn Co. Crash Charged With Two Felonies Driver In Fatal Crash Had Four Previous OWI Convictions