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12-17-2004, 12:12 AM
Suicide assist charge dropped against Oakland teen
Thursday, December 16, 2004
By Colleen Lehmann
The Douglas County state's attorney's office has elected not to pursue a felony charge of unlawful inducement to commit suicide, filed earlier this year against Austen C. Eriksen of Oakland.
Eriksen, 18, was originally charged by then-state's attorney Diane Sipich with the Class 4 felony in connection with the death of 17-year-old Eric Richardson of rural Hindsboro. The two teens were found together at Walnut Point State Park in the early morning hours of February 5, 2004.
Evidence evaluation and toxicology reports indicated both young men had taken potentially lethal doses of dextromethorphan (DXM), a psychoactive drug found in common, over-the-counter cough medicines.
Richardson was pronounced dead at the scene. Eriksen was transported to an area hospital, and eventually recovered from his overdose.
Kevin Nolan, newly-elected Douglas County state's attorney, presented and was granted the motion to dismiss the charge in court December 10.
When asked why the charge was dropped, Nolan replied, "I didn't think a jury would convict this defendant. The evidence as we know it - a young man who is obviously suicidal - makes a sympathetic witness. I don't believe a jury would be willing to convict."
Nolan said he met with Eric Richardson's parents December 8 to inform them of his decision.
"I wanted them to know what was happening in the case involving the death of their son. I had a private conversation with them, to let them know about this course of action," Nolan said. He declined to comment further on the nature of the conversation.
Testimony given at a coroner's inquest March 23, 2004 indicated Eriksen had supplied Richardson with the DXM. Douglas County officer Clint Howard testified at the inquest that a search of Eriksen's residence produced approximately 19 grams of pharmaceutical-grade DXM, scales, and packaging materials.
A suicide note written by Eriksen was recovered by Coles County authorities, and Howard said friends and classmates of Richardson told him Richardson had "spoken of self-harm and suicide."
The coroner's jury on March 23 deemed Eric Richardson's death a suicide. On May 17, 2004 an arrest warrant was issued for Eriksen, along with a $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing was held July 1, and on July 29 the court found probable cause existed for the felony charge.
Court records show Eriksen was arraigned on August 30, where he pleaded not guilty and requested a trial by jury. An original trial date of October 18 was vacated, and the matter was reset for the January 18, 2005 trial docket.
On December 1, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the charge for lack of venue, citing that the events took place in Coles County, not Douglas. Nine days later, Nolan requested that the charge against Eriksen be dropped.
When asked about the fact that DXM is a legal substance, and that Eriksen allegedly obtained it over the internet, Nolan responded, "This is another one of those situations where people manage to find ways to abuse legal substances.
"Unfortunately, the drug culture - for lack of a better term - often manages to be a few steps ahead of law enforcement efforts. It's up to the legislature as to how to regulate it."
Nolan also made mention of efforts by Joe Victor (Douglas County coroner/ESDA coordinator) to that end.
"I know Joe Victor has been working tirelessly to help stimulate some kind of legislative control on retail availability of DXM," he said.
Link: http://www.moultriedouglas.com/news/newsvi...ew.asp?c=134957 (http://www.moultriedouglas.com/news/newsview.asp?c=134957)
Thursday, December 16, 2004
By Colleen Lehmann
The Douglas County state's attorney's office has elected not to pursue a felony charge of unlawful inducement to commit suicide, filed earlier this year against Austen C. Eriksen of Oakland.
Eriksen, 18, was originally charged by then-state's attorney Diane Sipich with the Class 4 felony in connection with the death of 17-year-old Eric Richardson of rural Hindsboro. The two teens were found together at Walnut Point State Park in the early morning hours of February 5, 2004.
Evidence evaluation and toxicology reports indicated both young men had taken potentially lethal doses of dextromethorphan (DXM), a psychoactive drug found in common, over-the-counter cough medicines.
Richardson was pronounced dead at the scene. Eriksen was transported to an area hospital, and eventually recovered from his overdose.
Kevin Nolan, newly-elected Douglas County state's attorney, presented and was granted the motion to dismiss the charge in court December 10.
When asked why the charge was dropped, Nolan replied, "I didn't think a jury would convict this defendant. The evidence as we know it - a young man who is obviously suicidal - makes a sympathetic witness. I don't believe a jury would be willing to convict."
Nolan said he met with Eric Richardson's parents December 8 to inform them of his decision.
"I wanted them to know what was happening in the case involving the death of their son. I had a private conversation with them, to let them know about this course of action," Nolan said. He declined to comment further on the nature of the conversation.
Testimony given at a coroner's inquest March 23, 2004 indicated Eriksen had supplied Richardson with the DXM. Douglas County officer Clint Howard testified at the inquest that a search of Eriksen's residence produced approximately 19 grams of pharmaceutical-grade DXM, scales, and packaging materials.
A suicide note written by Eriksen was recovered by Coles County authorities, and Howard said friends and classmates of Richardson told him Richardson had "spoken of self-harm and suicide."
The coroner's jury on March 23 deemed Eric Richardson's death a suicide. On May 17, 2004 an arrest warrant was issued for Eriksen, along with a $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing was held July 1, and on July 29 the court found probable cause existed for the felony charge.
Court records show Eriksen was arraigned on August 30, where he pleaded not guilty and requested a trial by jury. An original trial date of October 18 was vacated, and the matter was reset for the January 18, 2005 trial docket.
On December 1, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the charge for lack of venue, citing that the events took place in Coles County, not Douglas. Nine days later, Nolan requested that the charge against Eriksen be dropped.
When asked about the fact that DXM is a legal substance, and that Eriksen allegedly obtained it over the internet, Nolan responded, "This is another one of those situations where people manage to find ways to abuse legal substances.
"Unfortunately, the drug culture - for lack of a better term - often manages to be a few steps ahead of law enforcement efforts. It's up to the legislature as to how to regulate it."
Nolan also made mention of efforts by Joe Victor (Douglas County coroner/ESDA coordinator) to that end.
"I know Joe Victor has been working tirelessly to help stimulate some kind of legislative control on retail availability of DXM," he said.
Link: http://www.moultriedouglas.com/news/newsvi...ew.asp?c=134957 (http://www.moultriedouglas.com/news/newsview.asp?c=134957)