WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
A Saginaw man accused of killing a Schoolcraft couple nearly two years ago in a Kalamazoo County car crash was found not guilty of second-degree murder this week.
Twenty-eight-year-old Ezra Phillips, however, was found guilty on two counts of operating while intoxicated causing death. Each count carries a 15-year maximum sentence.
Phillips was driving a Dodge Durango at a high rate of speed before his vehicle crashed into the side of a Chevrolet Impala driven by Joel Shaffer, 83, at the intersection of West XY Avenue and U.S. 131 in Schoolcraft Township. Shaffer and his wife, Dolores Shaffer, 84, died at the scene.
Phillips’ blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit, authorities said, adding Phillips was driving 84 miles per hour as Shaffer began to cross the highway.
Phillips is scheduled to be sentenced March 10.
