Bond granted in vehicular homicide case

Date: July 18, 2022

An Hephzibah man who is accused of running off the street and hitting a man working in a Meadowbrook Drive driveway was granted bond Friday, July 15.

Joseph Slappy Jr., 45, is accused of felony hit and run and vehicular homicide in the June 10 death of 56-year-old Allen Henry.

Henry was doing concrete work on a driveway just after noon that day when Slappy’s vehicle jumped the curb and hit Henry. Slappy allegedly left the scene and only returned because a witness who followed him from the scene insisted that he return.

At Slappy’s bond hearing in Richmond County Superior Court, defense attorney Lydia Schlitt said Slappy is now in kidney failure and needs dialysis three times a week, medical care he is not receiving at the jail.

Judge Jesse Stone granted Slappy a $15,000 bond. He must submit to electronic monitoring and isn’t allowed to drive pending possible indictment and trial.

Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com. 

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The Author

Award-winning journalist Sandy Hodson The Augusta Press courts reporter. She is a native of Indiana, but she has been an Augusta resident since 1995 when she joined the staff of the Augusta Chronicle where she covered courts and public affairs. Hodson is a graduate of Ball State University, and she holds a certificate in investigative reporting from the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization. Before joining the Chronicle, Hodson spent six years at the Jackson, Tenn. Sun. Hodson received the prestigious Georgia Press Association Freedom of Information Award in 2015, and she has won press association awards for investigative reporting, non-deadline reporting, hard news reporting, public service and specialty reporting. In 2000, Hodson won the Georgia Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and in 2001, she received Honorable Mention for the same award and is a fellow of the National Press Foundation and a graduate of the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting boot camp.

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