Ionia man gets up to 15 years for crash that injured own children, another driver

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

An Ionia man who pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in serious injury, a Class C felony, and serious injury by a vehicle, a Class D felony, will serve up to 15 years in prison.

Anthony Schmitz was sentenced to up to 10 years on the first count and five years on the second. The main question to be decided at the sentencing held Monday morning in Floyd County District Court was whether the terms would be served concurrently (at the same time) or consecutively.

Schmitz, age 44, pleaded guilty in February to charges that resulted from a two-vehicle head-on crash that injured the driver of a vehicle he struck and also injured two of his daughters who were in the vehicle with him.

At the time Schmitz tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine in his body.

According to the criminal complaint, Schmitz was driving a van on Highway 18 heading into Charles City when he crossed the centerline and struck an SUV driven by Heather Meyer, then 52, of Bassett.

Meyer, Schmitz and Schmitz’s 11-year-old daughter were transferred by helicopter to Mayo Clinic facilities in Rochester, Minn. Schmitz’s 10-year-old daughter was transported to Charles City Medical Center.

The case has gained some notoriety because two of Schmitz’s daughters planned to make victim impact statements to the court asking the judge to keep their father out of prison.

Daughter MaryJane, especially, has sought out the media to plead her case for mercy for her father.

However, Judge James Drew explained at the hearing Monday that state sentencing guidelines require prison sentences for the crimes to which Schmitz pleaded guilty.

The sentencing was originally scheduled for July 3, but was postponed because of some uncertainty whether it had been adequately explained to Schmitz that he was pleading guilty to a forcible felony that required prison time.

On Monday, Drew said he was “confident that between the records made by Judge (DeDra) Schroeder, the record made by myself two weeks ago and the fact that no motion in arrest of judgement has been filed, that we’re on solid ground in this point in time.”

Before the sentence was issued, the court heard victim impact statements from Steve Cerwinske, Heather Meyer’s husband, who said they have been together for 16 years.

He said he had sympathy for Schmitz’s daughters, but said, “Actions have consequences.”

Cerwinske described being told Meyer had been in an accident and rushing to the crash scene.

“There was blood all over her face and her hands were turned around backwards on her wrists,” he said. “There was a bone protruding through her right wrist from her forearm.”

The surgery on one wrist took 3½ hours and the surgery on the other wrist took 5½ hours, he said.

“The neurosurgeon who did that operation has specialized in wrist repairs for 25 years and told me my wife’s wrists were the most challenging he had ever done,” he said.

“Since the accident there have been countless trips to and from Rochester, Minnesota. When my wife was released from Rochester she couldn’t come home. She had to go to a skilled nursing facility,” Cerwinske said. She has since had two follow-up surgeries to remove wrist pins that were causing severe pain.

He said medical bills have surpassed $300,000 and insurance has long since run out. The insurance carried by Schultz only covered $20,000, and the helicopter ride to Rochester alone was $27,000.

“My wife’s got a long recovery ahead of her,” he said.

Heather Meyer also read a statement, saying the accident affected other people beside her.

“It’s affected my children and their significant others,” she said. “It’s affected my mother, as no mother should see their child go through something as tragic as this. It has affected my close work partners and friends. …”

She said she is taking physical therapy now and will someday have occupational therapy.

“There is not a day that goes by that I’m not in terrible pain,” she said. “There’s some days that I can deal with it, and there’s more days when it gets the best of me.”

Meyer said, “I just don’t understand how parents can use their children, in the manner these children have been used, having an 11-year-old plead for mercy, for your wrongdoing. Who would do that? At some point you have to take responsibility for your own actions.”

MaryJane Schmitz and Miale Schmitz read their statements, asking that their father be given an opportunity for rehab rather than prison.

MaryJane cited statistics about addiction, and said the accident was due to slipping on ice, not her father’s addiction.

“I’m going to be 12 years old and I can’t imagine life without my dad,” MaryJane said. “Please, I don’t want to spend the rest of my childhood with my dad in prison.”

Miale, 10, said she thinks that God has a purpose for her father.

“Please give my dad another chance. Please give him a chance to help others,” she said.

Schmitz’s wife Anna also gave a statement, saying her husband has “demons he deals with every day,” but he would never intentionally hurt his children. She also said it was her daughter MaryJane’s idea to speak at the hearing and seek media attention for the case.

“She wanted her story to be heard,” she said.

In sentencing, Judge Drew repeated that probation is not an option for the charges. “They carry a mandatory term of incarceration.”

He also said it was important to note that “this is not a 10-year sentence and a five-year sentence,” but indeterminate sentences not to exceed 10 years and five years.

“The reality is, most of the time most people are released much earlier than what the maximum term of incarceration is,” he said.

In this case, Drew said, “I’m very troubled, sir,  by the fact that you were on probation when this occurred. There has been no genuine remorse that I can perceive. Your prior record is certainly serious.

“And the fact is, as far as your addiction goes, nothing has worked so far,” he said. “I don’t know what it takes to get a man of your age’s attention. … All of those factors weigh against concurrent sentences in this case.”

In addition to the sentences of up to 10 years and up to 5 years to be served consecutively, he ordered Schmitz to make restitution to the Crime Victim Compensation Program in the amount of $2,786.22, but he suspended the fines on each charge.