Hannah Marney
The Union-Recorder
MADISON
Fri, May 16 2008
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By HANNAH MARNEY
Staff Writer
MADISON — A Morgan County jury took less than 3 hours to convict Mark H. Entrekin on all four counts for the July 1 Lake Sinclair Boating wreck that took the life of 49-year-old Mark Baxter.
Judge Hugh V. Wingfield sentenced 50-year-old Entrekin to 16 years in prison and ordered him to pay $6,000 in restitution to Baxter’s widow Sandy Baxter for her injuries and damage to their pontoon boat.
“This was an act of true cowardice,” Wingfield said to Entrekin during Saturday’s sentencing after the week-long trial.
The jury convicted Entrekin of two felony counts of homicide by vessel, one charge of misdemeanor reckless operation of a vehicle and one misdemeanor of failure to render aid.
Entrekin’s speed boat rammed the Baxters’ pontoon boat just before midnight July 1 on Lake Sinclair.
The impact propelled the Baxters into the dark water. Sandra Baxter’s daughter Laura Johnson screamed for help from the boat as Entrekin drove away.
For the rest of the story, see the March 25 print edition of the Union-Recorder.
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