WASHINGTON — Days after a public defender demanded charges against his client be dropped, the former school bus driver accused of driving drunk accepted a proposed plea agreement that would include less than a year in jail.
Troy Reynolds, 48, was arrested on Oct. 2022. He was charged with being drunk while driving a bus with more than 40 kindergartners on board. The children were heading back to Ben Murch Elementary School in D.C after a field trip to Cox Farms when the bus ran off the road and into a ditch.
Reynolds was arrested in December and indicted on nine felony charges of child endangerment and three misdemeanor charges, which include driving while intoxicated, driving with a disqualified commercial license, and driving a bus without a commercial driver’s license.
On March 15, Reynolds' lawyer, Amy M. Jordan demanded charges against her client be dropped, arguing that Reynolds was not getting a speeding trial due to missed deadlines from prosecutors.
"While some discovery was provided by February 4, 2023, not all discovery was provided in a timely manner," the motion read. "The Commonwealth's disregard for the court's order and failure to comply with their obligation is sufficient to warrant a dismissal of these charges."
Since the motion was filed, Reynolds entered a plea agreement with Commonwealth prosecutors, pleading no contest to three misdemeanors, including driving while intoxicated, driving on a suspended license and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
By pleading no contest, Reynolds waives his right to a trial and accepts the punishments while not admitting guilt. His original trial was scheduled to begin next week.
The plea agreement, which has not been accepted by the court as of 2 p.m., would see the other charges, including felony child endangerment and driving without a school bus endorsement, dropped. Reynolds would be sentenced to more than two years in jail with 510 days suspended, meaning in total he would spend less than a year behind bars.
As part of the agreement, the time he already served would count, meaning if the judge accepted the plea agreement by the time of the next hearing in July, he would walk away.
Judge Tania Saylor approved the request to grant him bail. She ordered a $5,000 bond for each charge, no alcohol consumption, random screenings, substance abuse evaluation and no driving for 12 months in Virginia. Reynolds still has his Maryland driver's license but as part of the deal, the loss of his license would not be effective until sentencing.
Reynolds also pleaded guilty to two other federal regulation violations last month.
When the judge asked if prosecutors had notified victims about the plea deal, she responded by saying they have made "reasonable efforts to notify parents but haven't spoken to everyone."
The prosecutor took on the case on February 27, after the first two attorneys resigned. During the hearing, the defense claimed Reynolds swerved into the ditch to avoid a head-on collision because the road was so narrow.