Mondovi man convicted of OWI homicide, possessing child pornography
EAU CLAIRE — A Mondovi man was convicted Friday of OWI homicide and possessing child pornography.
Kenneth W. Van Meter, 42, pleaded guilty at a status hearing in Eau Claire County Court to homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle, and he pleaded no contest to two counts of possessing child pornography. The child pornography convictions carry a mandatory minimum of three years in prison, while an OWI homicide conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. A total of 13 other charges of possessing child pornography were read-in and dismissed.
Judge Beverly Wickstrom ordered a pre-sentence investigation, and she set sentencing for May 29. Wickstrom left a $750,000 cash bond in place.
The OWI homicide conviction stems from a May 2023 crash at Clairemont Avenue and Fairfax Street.
Authorities say the crash took place when Van Meter's vehicle slammed into a car driven by Tammy Jarecki, who had stopped in the eastbound lanes at the stop light. The impact was so violent it pushed Jarecki's car across the intersection and into two traffic posts. It burst into flames, killing Jarecki.
The criminal complaint says Van Meter had a blood-alcohol level of 0.342 more than four times the legal limit. According to responding officers he didn't know where he was after the crash.
After the crash investigators seized Van Meter's cell phone. That's a common step since authorities want to know whether use of a phone contributed to the crash. But it's what they found on the phone that led to the second case.
After reviewing the phone's contents, investigators found evidence of child pornography. They sought a new search warrant specifically for that offense, and eventually found numerous downloads, videos and images that showed children being abused, and they were able to identify one of the children shown.
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