Seil changes plea in watercraft homicide
Faces 21 to 27 months in prison
EPHRATA — A Western Washington man reached a deal with prosecutors to be sentenced on a charge of watercraft homicide in connection with a July 2005 boating crash on Billy Clapp Lake, a prosecutor and defense attorney said.
Charles C. Seil, 46, of Kent, Wash., appeared Wednesday before Grant County Superior Court Judge Ken Jorgensen and entered an Alford plea, meaning he acknowledges evidence in the case could result in a conviction. The plea doesn't require him to admit guilt.
Seil was charged, in October 2006, with two counts of watercraft homicide. The first count was for operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. An alternative, second count was for operating a vessel in a reckless manner, with disregard for the safety of others.
He was also charged with two counts of watercraft assault.
Seil, who originally entered a plea of innocent to the counts, is scheduled to be sentenced on the second count of watercraft homicide, Grant County Deputy Prosecutor Carolyn Fair said in an interview Wednesday.
Moses Lake attorney Garth Dano, representing Seil, said it was his client's choice to change the plea.
"The state's agreeing to dismiss three counts," Dano said in an interview. "(Seil) believes he's innocent. But he believes there's sufficient evidence they may convict on something."
Seil was reportedly operating his 21-foot Bayliner boat, loaded with four passengers, when it slammed into a rocky shoreline in a remote section of the northern Grant County lake, according to court documents.
The crash killed a 6-year-old girl on board and seriously injured Seil's son, who was 3 years old at the time, court records state.
Passenger Richard A. Huff, 44, of Maple Valley, Wash., suffered brain injury as a result of the crash and is continuing to rehabilitate.
Seil's fourth passenger, a 16-year-old juvenile male from Kent was transported to Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata. He was treated there and released.
Immediately after the wreck, Seil was taken to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, where his blood was drawn and sent to a toxicology lab for testing, documents state.
Fair told the Columbia Basin Herald last month she anticipated being able to prove, during a trial, Seil had alcohol and other substances in his system at the time of the wreck.
After a brief court appearance last month, Seil checked into the Betty Ford Clinic in California, Fair said.
Seil, who had no prior felony convictions, now faces a prison term of 21 to 27 months when he is sentenced July 9, Fair said.