Prosecutors will retry Eaton County man charged in fatal crash after hung jury

CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte man charged in a 2018 traffic crash that resulted in the death of a Vermontville motorcyclist will be retried for manslaughter after jurors in his first trial could not reach a verdict on the charge, prosecutors said Thursday.

Mitchill Glenn, 53, was tried in July on three charges: OWI causing death, misdemeanor moving violation causing death and manslaughter with a motor vehicle.

The crash, which happened Aug. 7, 2018, claimed the life of 60-year-old Richard Dunlap of Vermontville.

A jury issued a not guilty verdict on the OWI causing death charge July 29. Glenn was found guilty, however, of the misdemeanor moving violation.

The third charge, manslaughter with a motor vehicle, resulted in a hung jury.

Eaton County Prosecutor Doug Lloyd said Thursday in a text message that prosecutors plan to retry Glenn on the manslaughter charge. A scheduling conference has been set for Aug. 19.

"This is a tragic case," Glenn’s attorney, Matt Newburg, said. "We respect (the jury's) decision and appreciate their willingness to serve as jurors in the case."

Police said Dunlap was preparing to turn onto American Legion Drive in Charlotte when he was struck by Glenn's pickup truck at about 6:30 p.m. Aug. 7, 2018.

At the time, officers believed Glenn was visibly impaired by methamphetamine — the basis for the OWI charge, said Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Anderson Thursday.

But the jury disagreed, acquitting Glenn on the charge.

Anderson said there's no quantifiable measurement for methamphetamine impairment, unlike a measure such as blood alcohol level. While there is a drug screening officers can perform, he said police did not test Glenn at the time.

"(The jury) obviously didn't believe that there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and that was their decision to make," he said.

Dunlap was passionate about his three grandchildren and farming, according to his obituary. He loved taking the children for rides on tractors and his restored Model-A.

The Eaton County Jail released Glenn shortly after the verdict last month. He had been incarcerated since violating his bond in early 2021, Anderson said.

He faces up to one year in prison and a $2,000 fine for his conviction on the moving violation causing death charge.

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.