ALTON, Ill. — A man pleaded guilty to a lesser felony Thursday after his trial for first-degree murder or reckless homicide ended in a hung jury earlier this week.
Caleb A. Lenhardt, 22, pleaded guilty to two felonies Thursday, aggravated driving under the influence causing death and aggravated battery.
Police said the incident happened on a parking lot on the 400 block of Belle Street in Alton on July 22, 2018. Lenhardt admitted to driving his car into 21-year-old Katie Bunt and a 25-year-old woman who were standing in the lot. Bunt died from her injuries and 25-year-old was taken to the hospital. The 25-year-old victim survived but was left with a lifelong nerve injury.
Lenhardt hit the women then fled the scene in the car. He jumped out of the car and ran off on foot before being found by a police K-9 unit about an hour after the incident.
The murder trial began on Jan. 7 and the jury was released for deliberation at around 11:30 Wednesday morning. The jury did not return their ruling until Thursday morning when they relayed a note saying they were hung at a 7-5 vote on whether or not he was guilty of murder or reckless homicide.
A press release from the St. Clair County State's Attorney's Office said Katie Bunt's family said going through the trial process again would be too painful, so they asked prosecutors to pursue a plea deal.
After working with the defense, the two sides came to a deal where Lenhardt pleaded guilty to the two lesser felonies. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and will be required to serve at least 85% of that sentence.
