Bachelor star Chris Soules sat emotionless in an Iowa courtroom Thursday during a pretrial hearing, as he stands accused of leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
Soules, 35, a reality TV personality and farmer from rural Arlington, rear-ended a tractor driven by his neighbor Kenneth Mosher, 66, back in April. He is accused of leaving the scene of a fatal accident before police arrived.
During his Thursday hearing, Soules attentively listened to his attorneys, the prosecution and the judge, but otherwise appeared expressionless in the face of a Class D felony, which carries a five-year-sentence.
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Reality TV star Chris Soules, of ‘The Bachelor, appears at a hearing in Buchanan County District Court, Thursday
During the pretrial hearing Soules listened attentively, but otherwise appeared expressionless
The Bachelor star’s trial is set for January. His legal team has previously filed motions to dismiss the charges of leaving the scene, as he can be heard calling 911 to report the accident. Those motions have been denied.
After his team was denied their most recent motion to dismiss, they filed to obtain more information from the state on the case such as the time of Mosher’s death and and other evidence.
During Thursday’s quick hearing, his lawyers and the prosecution disclosed they had reached an agreement out of court, not to amend the charges, but the narrative behind them.
Soules’ legal team will continue to pursue a dismissal, armed with the additional information from the state on the events of that day.
Chris Soules (left) is to be arraigned for the fatal car crash which left his 66-year-old neighbor Kenneth Mosher (right) dead
KWWL reports Soules’ lawyers will be back in court to October 10 again on a new motion to dismiss.
His legal team disputes claims he fled, saying he fulfilled all legal obligations by calling 911 and identifying himself.
Soules was arrested a few hours after the crash in his hometown of Arlington, Iowa, and released on $10,000 bail.
TMZ reported police have seized his cell phone and were investigating call logs, messaging services, his pictures and social media to see whether he was distracted at the time of the accident.
Friends: Chris Soules (L) and Nick Viall were snapped last year at the Wango Tango event in Carson, California. On Saturday, Viall offered his prayers to everyone involved
911 calls reveal how police arrived at the scene before Soules left. Officers were heard calling for back-up after he ‘took off’ in another person’s truck
Soules appeared in a court last month where he was accused of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. His mother posted his $10,000 bond later and was released
Soules spoke out after the incident, telling In Touch: ‘My family and I are overwhelmed with this tragedy, but we are sticking together and we’ll get through it.’
According to officials, Soules’ was driving in his 2008 Chevrolet Silverado truck when he rear-ended Mosher’s John Deere tractor, sending both careening into a ditch.
The reality star, who has also appeared on Dancing With The Stars, contacted 911 before departing the scene in a separate vehicle and heading to his Arlington, Iowa home. Soules didn’t initially answer his door until police served him with a warrant, authorities said.
A pair of 911 calls from the crash reveal how he called for help and tried to save the fellow farmer before fleeing in another driver’s truck once police arrived.
The calls reveal that Soules tried to save Mosher’s life and that there were others at the scene when the crash occurred. The pair were friendly with one another, In Touch reported.
Soules, who starred in series 19 of The Bachelor and was preparing to film Bachelor in Paradise when the crash occurred, called 911 immediately.
He told an operator through labored breathing: ‘I just ran in to a guy in a tractor.’
Kenneth Mosher (pictured with his family), a 66-year-old corn farmer and grandfather, died. His tractor was mowed off the road and in to a ditch
Soules appeared on the 19th series of The Bachelor
After admitting that he did not know how to perform CPR, he asked others there: ‘Does anyone know CPR?’
It was initially unclear whether or not he was alone at the time of the crash.
As they waited for police and an ambulance, Soules checked Mosher’s pulse. He remarked that it didn’t look as though Mosher was breathing.
‘I can’t tell, he doesn’t appear to be,’ he said when asked. Later, he said: ‘I feel like he’s got a pulse.’
Soules ended the call abruptly, telling the operator: ‘Can I call you back real quick?’
It’s not clear exactly how much time passed before police arrived. A separate recording of their radio communication however captured the moment he allegedly fled in another person’s truck.
‘One of the subjects that was involved just took off northbound in a red Duramax truck. Do you have any available units?’ one of the responding police officers is heard saying.
Within seconds, another said: ‘We believe the subject is going to be Chris Soules. That’s the name of the subject who took off.’
Police searched his vehicle at the crash scene and found alcohol in it but there has not yet been any suggestion he was drunk at the time of the accident.
Better times: Soules, a hunky Iowa farmer, was the focal point of ABC’s The Bachelor in 2015
Soules’ spokesman issued a statement on his behalf afterwards to say he was ‘devastated’ by the accident.
‘Chris Soules was involved in an accident on Monday evening, April 24, in a rural part of Iowa near his home.
‘He was devastated to learn that Kenneth Mosher, the other person in the accident, passed away. His thoughts and prayers are with Mr Mosher’s family.’
Police records show the star had at least 12 other run-ins with the law.
Previous charges include driving under the influence, speeding, running a stop sign and driving with an open container of alcohol.
He was charged with fleeing the scene of a previous accident in 2002 but it was reduced to defective brakes.
Mosher, a father and grandfather, died after being taken to hospital by ambulance. He was a corn farmer.
The victim’s son-in-law relatives told People the crash was a ‘freak accident’.
Teen drinking, speeding and DUI: Chris Soules’ rap sheet revealed
Soules’ criminal record has more than a dozen convictions from the time he was 16 years old
Chris Soules, the dashing all-American gentleman farmer from Iowa who charmed his way into TV viewers’ hearts on The Bachelor, had spent his late teens and 20s going in and out of courtrooms on more than a dozen charges, most of them related to driving violations and alcohol consumption.
Records available on Iowa Courts’ website detail Soules’ vast history of run-ins with the law, which goes back 1998 and includes 13 guilty pleas on a slew of counts, ranging from registration violations to underage drinking and fighting.
In 1998, Soules, then aged 16, was convicted for the first time of speeding six to 10 miles over a 55mph speed limit and was sentenced to a fine.
In 2001, Soules was found guilty of underage drinking and failure to maintain control of a vehicle in two separate incidents. Both cases saw the future reality star get off with fines.
In May and August of that year, Soules was convicted twice of possession of alcohols under age. In the latter incident, he was also found guilty of driving with an open container of alcohol, running a stop sign and speeding. Those cases also resulted in fines.
In February 2002, Soules was convicted of fighting, and in March he was back in court on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident, which was later reduced to a count of defective brakes.
Soules stayed out of trouble for four years until in 2006 he was convicted of his most serious charge – driving while intoxicated – and fined more than $500. His sentence also included a year of probation.
In 2007, Soules was found guilty of speeding, and the same charge brought him back to court in 2009.
Soules’ final brush with the law before Monday’s arrest occurred in 2010, when he was convicted and fined for a registration violation.