Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Suspect was convicted in 2016 of manslaughter after crash

A McKenzie man who led Andalusia police on a high-speed pursuit last week will remain in jail due to violating his probation.

Wyatt Vogail Sexton, 31, was fleeing from police along Prestwood Bridge Road, but was ultimately caught and arrested. Sexton was on probation following a 2016 manslaughter conviction related to the vehicular homicide death of Linda Knight, a Georgiana resident whose car had become disabled after she struck a deer on Hwy. 55, north of Red Level.

Following Sexton’s arrest last week, District Attorney Walt Merrell said he had concerns that the suspect might be released from jail.

“Sexton still would have been able to bond out,” Merrell said. “His bond on the Andalusia charges was set at $30,500, but he is a danger to society, so I called the probation officers and asked them to put a hold on him and keep him in jail. It’s customary for violation of probation warrants to be issued when someone is arrested while on probation, so I called Nichole Appleyard, and she and her office immediately made sure Sexton was detained for the violation.”

Appleyard is the officer in charge of the Andalusia Probation Office.

“I am grateful for Appleyard’s assistance and getting all of that taken care of during her off-duty time. She went above and beyond,” Merrell said.

Sexton was convicted by a Covington County jury in May of 2016 of manslaughter for the vehicular homicide death of Knight. Merrell tried the case stating, “Testimony that we presented during the trial showed the Sexton was driving at very high rates of speeds, and witnesses who were with him earlier in the night believed him to be under the influence. When he hit her car, he never even tapped his brakes. It’s a wonder they were not both killed and tragic that anyone died at all.”

Following that trial, Sexton was given a 10-year sentence for Knight’s death, and later, split the sentence and required Sexton to serve a term of probation after he was released from the Department of Corrections.

“Obeying the law is an obvious term and condition of probation,” Merrell said.

This is Sexton’s second violation of probation, according to the district attorney. The first was a domestic dispute involving his father. “Family matters are always unusually difficult to prosecute because family witnesses are unwilling to cooperate. So, we resolved that matter by making Sexton go to a residential rehabilitation program for one year,” Merrell said.

Merrell added that he has since heard from several residents of the Prestwood Bridge Road area.

“It seems that there are others who like to race up and down that road, too,” he said. “This isn’t just about Wyatt Sexton. This is about safety. We will prosecute anyone who acts a fool in these neighborhoods — we don’t care who they are.”

The hearing before Circuit Court Judge Charles “Lex” Short on what sanction will be imposed for Sexton’s most recent violation of probation is set for Oct. 8.

“We will ask Judge Short to put him in prison for the remainder of his sentence,” Merrell said.