Ryan Jones, of Wayne County, accepts a plea agreement for the charge of DUI causing death at a hearing in Kanawha County Magistrate Court on Monday, June 23, 2025.
A Wayne County man has been sentenced to three to 15 years of home confinement for a DUI crash in Sissonville that caused the death of his best friend.
Ryan Jones, of Wayne County, accepts a plea agreement for the charge of DUI causing death at a hearing in Kanawha County Magistrate Court on Monday, June 23, 2025.
FAITHLYN GRAHAM | Gazette-Mail
Ryan Jones, 28, pleaded guilty in June to DUI causing death for a October 2023 crash. Jones, who was drunk, crashed a Chevrolet Silverado into a tree in the 2200 block of Legg Fork Road in Sissonville. The tree fell and killed his best friend and passenger Dusty Myers, 26.
Thursday, Jones’s attorney, Kevin Hughart, said Jones had taken responsibility for the crime by pleading guilty to the charge.
Hughart said Jones and Myers were attending a birthday party when they got a call about picking up children. Jones had taken a nap and thought that he could drive.
“He was the only one who could function,†Hughart said. “He did not believe that he was still intoxicated or as intoxicated as he was.â€
Hughart asked the judge to sentence Jones to home confinement as stated in the plea agreement between Jones and the state.
“There’s nothing that this court can do that will ever prevent my client from escaping his own brain,†Hughart said.
Brandon Morgan, Kanawha County assistant prosecuting attorney, said that Myers’s wife and parents had asked that Jones be put on home confinement.
“Mr. Myers’ wife wants to see Mr. Jones continue to support his own child, continue to work for a living and contribute to society,†Morgan said.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Ken Ballard said he had also received requests from Myers’s family to place Jones on home confinement. He sentenced Jones to three to 15 years on home confinement in Wayne County, meaning Jones could be eligible for probation in three years.
Under state law, Jones will also lose his drivers license for 10 years or for a length of time that depends on his participation in a program that uses a device to prevent people from driving while drunk.
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