Faith man pleads not guilty to vehicular homicide; prosecutors want habitual offender status

PIERRE (AP) — A Faith man has pleaded not guilty to charges including vehicular homicide stemming from a crash in which a Pierre woman was killed.

Sixty-three-year-old Walt Taton faces alternate counts of vehicular battery along with drunken driving and a misdemeanor charge of driving on the wrong side of the road.

Authorities allege that the vehicle Taton was driving on state Highway 34 near Hayes on April 28 collided head-on with a car, killing 28-year-old Heather Unser. She was a passenger in the car.

According to media reports, prosecutors want Taton treated as a habitual offender because he has multiple drunken driving convictions. That could increase any prison time if he is convicted.

Judge Mark Barnett doubled Taton's $50,000 bond, saying Taton poses a danger to the public.

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