Thursday, August 17, 2006

Solich GHB Hearing

Tuesday's hearing on Frank Solich's attempt to revoke his guilty plea to DWI brought about an confusing set of conflicting testimony. The results of the Toxicology Associates test for GHB were further questioned by two experts, who said that the tests appear to invalid for GHB. Under cross-examination by Solich's attorney, the experts did acknowledge that the test results could indicate that the substance could be a variant of GHB. Could a variant of GHB have similar effects to GHB while producing different results in testing? That's a question that will haunt this case.

However, much of the eyewitness testimonies now seem to support Solich's story. Early stories from the Athens bar reported that Solich was drinking heavily. Tuesday, the bartender testified that when he arrived for work at 5 pm, Solich was already there drinking. However, Solich testified that he had flown into Columbus, Ohio at 3:45 that afternoon and didn't arrive at the bar until 6:30 pm. Google Maps shows that it takes 2 hours to drive from the airport to Athens. The bar's records also support Solich's story, showing the tab opened at 6:38 pm.

Solich's claim of being drugged also received a boost when Athens police officer Krishea Osborne testified that within an hour, Solich went from drooling and incoherent to lucid enough to call Ohio University officials. 2 hours later, Solich was able to be released unlike the vast majority of drunk drivers.

It will be interesting to see how the court rules in this case.

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