Crime & Safety
Bonney Lake Man Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Kent Teacher in DUI
Bonney Lake resident Samuel Jordan Cruz pleaded not guilty in court yesterday to vehicular homicide that resulted in the death of Kent school teacher Stacy Ankerfelt.
Yesterday in King County Court, Bonney Lake resident Samuel Jordan Cruz pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide of Stacy Ankerfelt, a 28-year-old woman who taught junior high at Scenic Hill Elementary School in Kent.
Charges against Cruz were upgraded to vehicular homicide after Ankerfelt died at Harborview Medical Center of complications from the July 19 accident. She died last week, just before her students were to return to school.
Charging papers against Cruz allege that he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he hit Ankerfelt, who was standing outside of her car near her home in July. He told police that he had taken suboxone, an opiate to compate his opiate dependency.
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Yesteday, the King County Judge set Cruz' bail to $250,000. Cruz remains in custody while awaiting trial. A pretrial hearing is set for Sept. 11.
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