On Tuesday, 46-year-old Justin Spangle quietly sidestepped a looming jury trial and pleaded no contest to three felony charges in the 2023 hit-and-run that killed a 14-year-old boy with autism. His defense team has asked the court for a prison term of 36 to 71 months, and a judge is set to decide his fate on June 23.
According to ClickOnDetroit, Spangle entered a no-contest plea to driving while his license was suspended, causing death, tampering with evidence, and failure to stop at the scene. Prosecutors allege that shortly after the crash, he replaced his car’s cracked windshield, and the outlet reports that his lawyers pressed the judge for that 36-to-71-month sentencing range. The case is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on June 23.
Crash and arrest details
The deadly collision unfolded in the pre-dawn hours of Aug. 18, 2023, on the Groesbeck Highway entrance ramp to eastbound I-696 near the Warren-Roseville border, police said. WXYZ reported that witnesses saw the boy "stumbling in the roadway" before he was struck. Michigan State Police detectives later located the vehicle believed to be involved and traced it back to Spangle. Authorities arrested him days after the crash as investigators tied the car to the scene.
Charges and court process
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office formally filed the three felony counts in January 2024, CBS Detroit reported, and the case was bound over to Macomb County Circuit Court. Court filings show it moved toward a jury trial this spring before Spangle opted for the no-contest plea on the eve of proceedings. At the June 23 hearing, both sides are expected to lay out their sentencing arguments, and any victim impact statements will be presented to the judge.
Legal penalties and what to expect
Under Michigan law, leaving the scene of an accident that results in death can be charged as a felony with a potential prison term of up to 15 years, and tampering with evidence is also a felony with its own sentencing range, according to state statutes. The statutory language and penalties are outlined in MCL 257.617 and MCL 750.483a. Those guidelines will frame the judge’s decision as the court weighs the defense request for roughly three to six years behind bars against whatever term prosecutors recommend.
The boy had been reported missing hours before he was hit and was pronounced dead at the scene, an earlier Aug. 18, 2023, report by ClickOnDetroit detailed. After an investigation that has stretched from August 2023 through this spring, the case now hinges on the June 23 sentencing, when the judge will decide whether to go along with the defense’s proposed term.
