Published: July 09, 2009 10:29 am      

Guilty plea in death

Weatherford man to get probation, fine in death of B.B. Fielder

WEATHERFORD — A 49-year-old Weatherford man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of racing causing death in the January 2007 accident that resulted in the death of former Weatherford High School running back Willie “B.B.” Fielder.

As a part of the guilty plea, the prosecution agreed to recommend that Swindle receive a 10-year probated sentence along with a $2,000 fine, 300 hours community service and many other conditions of probation, according to court records.

“Before arriving at the decision to make this plea offer, we consulted extensively with Mr. Fielder’s family,” said District Attorney Don Schnebly, who is prosecuting the case with Assistant District Attorney Jeff Swain. “In the end, they indicated that they believed that resolving the case with a guilty plea and a probated sentence with an associated term of jail time would be appropriate. The first part of that was accomplished through the plea agreement today. We intend to ask Judge Quisenberry to assess the jail portion at the punishment trial next week.”

A sentencing hearing was set for 9 a.m. Friday, July 17, in the 415th District Court to determine the amount of jail time Swindle will receive as a part of his probation. Under Texas law, in felony cases, a judge may assess up to six months in jail as a condition of probation.

“The charge in this case was not related to some sort of drag race, as the offense of ‘racing’ might imply,” Swain said. “The essential allegation in the indictment in this case is that Swindle’s vehicle was accelerating to the top of a bottleneck on South Main Street along with another vehicle and that neither would allow the other to pass, the result of which was an accident causing the death of Mr. Fielder.”

No drug or alcohol usage was involved in the case, Swain said.