A 27-year-old Florence man charged in late 2014 for his alleged role in the death of a 19-year-old Summerton woman will face a jury of his peers this week at the Clarendon County Courthouse.
Justin Walters is charged with reckless homicide by watercraft, which carries up to 10 years in prison. Jurors for his trial in Clarendon County General Sessions Court were chosen on Monday morning. After a recess Tuesday due to a court holiday, his trial will begin with opening arguments from 3rd Circuit Assistant Solicitor Chris DuRant and defense counsel Ceth Land at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Walters has been out on a $20,000 personal recognizance bond since his arrest in September 2014, after a four-month investigation by the state Department of Natural Resources into the jetski wreck that killed Millicent "Milli" McDonald in May of that year.
Walters is accused of colliding by boat May 19, 2014, with a jetski ridden by McDonald on Lake Marion in Clarendon County. McDonald was later airlifted to a Columbia hospital where she succumbed to her injuries May 20.
Walters has previously been represented by his brother, Florence attorney Jamie L. Walters, during court appearances.
Walters passed field sobriety tests, according to law enforcement officers with the state Department of Natural Resources. No breathalyzer test was administered, and DNR is not required to administer such tests under state law.
The lack of a breathalyzer has prompted Melissa Grice, McDonald's mother, to petition the state legislature for a law that will require DNR to provide such tests in the event of any watercraft wreck.
“The water laws and road laws are far from the same,” she said. “And because (Walters) passed field sobriety tests, DNR saw no reason to breathalyze.”
