Photos posted on Facebook of a Lake Wylie man awaiting trial on charges related to a fatal drunken driving crash led to stiffer bond conditions - including an order not to drink.
The family of 20-year-old Travis James Pettus scoured Facebook for pictures of the Clover man after his November 2008 death in a crash on Ridge Road. His parents, David and Evelyn Pettus, said they were "heartbroken" by what they found - pictures of Jason Isbell, the accused driver, out of state on spring break with alcohol.
Pettus' parents said when they saw photos of the man who police say had a blood-alcohol level of 0.176 - more than double the legal limit - after the crash that killed their son, they feared Isbell, would drive drunk again.
"He's become a danger to the community again because he's going out drinking and doing the same behaviors that led to the crash," 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Willy Thompson said in a York County court hearing Thursday.
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Isbell, 21, faces charges of felony driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless homicide in connection with the deadly crash after a Halloween party on Nov. 1, 2008. Isbell, who could face 40 years in prison, was charged last year after being hospitalized with crash-related injuries.
Isbell had been released on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond while waiting for a trial scheduled for this summer. Thompson said Isbell's injuries played a part in the original bond.
At a hearing Thursday morning, Judge John Hayes modified Isbell's bond to $100,000 cash/surety that includes house arrest with electronic GPS monitoring, and an order not to drink or leave the state.
The crash happened as Isbell traveled east in a 1997 Jeep Cherokee along Ridge Road near Clover. The SUV ran off the right side of the road, struck some trees and overturned, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Travis Pettus was a passenger in that vehicle. His father said Pettus had just graduated from a technical college with a degree in automotive work and loved working on cars.
"Every time I saw him, he had a wrench in one hand and a rag in the other," David Pettus said.
Thompson presented Hayes with photos from Facebook, a social networking website, which range from pictures of Isbell in a bar with a beer in his hand before he turned 21 and more recent images of a spring break trip to Tennessee.
After the Pettus family brought the earlier photos to Thompson's attention, he said he discussed the behavior with Isbell's attorney. The family brought up the Facebook photos again when a number of new photos from the Tennessee trip surfaced. Thompson described one photo that showed Isbell with a case of beer as the suspect was obviously on vacation and drinking.
"For the victim's family, this has been a nightmare," he said. "He's flaunting the violations of his bond conditions." Those conditions include not leaving the state and maintaining good behavior.
Pettus' parents said they're pleased by the judge's order to have Isbell monitored.
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