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Charges filed!

Wesley Urch looked unemotional.

Clad in his brown prison uniform, Urch rubbed his chin, gave reporters a quick stare and matter-of-factly glanced at the judge.

In seconds, he couldn't face any of them as he learned he could spend the rest of his life in prison for mowing down an Erie couple with his truck.

Wesley R. Urch Jr. is accused of running over and killing Stephen E. Caldwell and seriously injuring Caldwell's girlfriend, Terri Peoples, along West 26th Street late Sunday.

Urch was arraigned Thursday evening in the Erie Bureau of Police squad room in the basement of City Hall before Erie 1st Ward District Judge Sue Mack, who sent Urch to the Erie County Prison in lieu of $100,000 bond.


Urch is charged with involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident involving death or injury, failure in duty to give aid, driving on the left side of the street and two counts each of recklessly endangering another person and aggravated assault.

Urch first sat expressionless across from Mack, but his face grew red with the judge's recitation of the events written in the criminal complaint against him.

His salt-and-pepper hair quivered as he whimpered into his forearm.

Mack asked if Urch had anything else to say.

He looked at the table and his tear-drenched sleeve.


"I'm sorry for what I did," he whispered.

According to the criminal complaint, two witnesses saw a man in the driver's seat of a truck, matching a description of Urch's Dodge, arguing with the couple near the Knights of St. John club about 10 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses told police that Peoples walked into the street near the truck while arguing with the man.

That's when the dark, 1998 Dodge Ram backed up, then moved forward, ramming Peoples into Caldwell. The truck then accelerated forward, running over Peoples and striking Caldwell, according to the witnesses.

Police said the truck belongs to Urch and that he was driving.

Caldwell died at 1:11 a.m. Monday at Hamot Medical Center as a result of his injuries. Peoples is in the intensive care unit at Hamot, but she is sedated and unable to speak, Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk said.


"We're very fortunate this wasn't a double fatal," Foulk said. "It is the opinion of the Erie County District Attorney's Office that Mr. Urch intentionally, knowingly and recklessly drove his Dodge pickup truck into the eastbound lane of West 26th Street" and hit the victims.

Foulk said that although Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook ruled Caldwell's death "accidental," he is pursuing the case, in part, because Caldwell died of "multiple blunt force trauma."

Urch said he "felt a thump" as he pulled away from the curb, according to a search warrant that police got for Urch's truck. Police also said Urch admitted he took his truck to a nearby car wash after the incident.

Police impounded the truck and searched it.

Foulk said DNA samples from Peoples are being compared with samples connected to the incident. He would not give details about the samples.


The district attorney also said that samples sent to the state police laboratory in Lawrence Park Township will be sent to another laboratory for further tests.

He said he did not know when the results would be available.

At the time of the incident, Peoples and Caldwell had been dating for about a month, Peoples' mother told news media on Wednesday. Caldwell was married but living separately from his wife. Caldwell's wife and her family have declined to comment.

Police interviewed witnesses at the St. John club who said they saw Urch drink eight to 12 "seabreeze" mixed drinks between 2 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Foulk said the drinking was a violation of his parole from state prison.

State parole officers took Urch to the State Correctional Institution at Albion for the violations. His sentence is scheduled to expire in 2012.


Chief Deputy District Attorney Jack Daneri has been assigned to prosecute the case.

If convicted on all charges and sentenced to serve the terms consecutively, Urch would face 50 to 100 years in prison. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 12.