BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- It has been nearly one year since a 21-year-old Sikeston man lost his life when he was struck by a 2009 Cadillac XLR while walking along a stretch of Highway 51 near Puxico. The accident occurred in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 17, 2017.
Phillip A. Manning was pronounced dead at the scene, and authorities were initially led to believe that the driver of the Cadillac was Garey Faries, then 76, a resident of Puxico, who told Trooper Russell Gibson at the scene that he was driving the vehicle that struck the Sikeston man in the roadway.
Details surrounding the incident, however, did not add up, and eventually a witness told the patrol that Gary Faries appeared on the scene following the accident, and he was not behind the wheel at the time the fatality occurred.
An investigation into the incident revealed that the driver of the Cadillac was in actuality Garey Faries' son, Wesley G. Faries, then 39. The younger Faries eventually admitted to authorities that he was the driver. Both men were subsequently arrested. The senior Faries was charged with hindering prosecution of a felony. Wesley Faries was charged with felony first degree involuntary manslaughter. Both father and son posted bonds and were released.
Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver immediately filed a motion for the appointment of a special prosecutor in the two cases. New Madrid County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Lawson was appointed to take over the cases.
After a series of court appearances, it was ruled in November 2017 that the two cases would be consolidated into one, and the consolidated case was then assigned for a hearing after the start of the new year.
When the pair appeared in the courtroom of Judge Robert N. Mayer, on Jan. 3, 2018, a jury trial date was set for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 12, 2018.
Prior to that date, a pre-trial conference is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21, in Mayer's Bloomfield courtroom.