Man convicted of buying beer for teens in fatal crash wants new trial

A McHenry man convicted of buying beer for a group of teenage girls, one of whom suffered fatal injuries while driving home drunk later that day, is seeking a new trial, claiming that several judicial errors led to the guilty verdict against him.

In court documents filed this month, the lawyer for Edward Jungmann, 24, argues that McHenry County Judge Charles Weech created an unfair trial by giving immunity to two key prosecution witnesses on the day the trial began.

Both of those witnesses would have cited their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to testify had Weech not granted immunity.

"The last-minute grant of immunity substantially prejudiced the defendant in his trial preparation and in his decision to waive a jury trial," defense attorney Patrick Walsh said.

Weech cited the testimony given under immunity, particularly that of a teenage girl who said she was with Jungmann when he bought the beer, when reaching the guilty verdict after a two-day bench trial in October.

Jungmann was scheduled for sentencing Friday, but that was postponed because of his motion for a new trial. If the request is denied, he will face up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine on the misdemeanor conviction for unlawful delivery of alcohol to a minor.

The charge alleged Jungmann bought two cases of beer on St. Patrick's Day 2005 for 17-year-old Jenna Christopherson of McHenry and a group of her friends.

One of those friends, Jamie Lyn Smith, 17, of Hebron was driving home drunk from Christopherson's later that day when she lost control of her car on Route 47 north of Woodstock and struck a utility pole. She died from her injuries eight months later.

Besides the immunity decision, Jungmann's defense also claims Weech erred by not granting a mistrial when a police officer violated a previous court order by giving testimony about Smith's death during the trial.

Christopherson also faces an unlawful delivery charge stemming from her 2005 party.

Weech initially dismissed the charge, ruling that the law applied only to adults providing liquor to minors, not minors to minors. But a state appeals court overturned his decision late last year, sending the case back to McHenry County for trial.