Gets out of jail for Labor Day weekend; sentencing set for Sept. 24

Arnold Queen II, of Wheelersburg, has pleaded guilty to charges related to a collision that killed a Lawrence County couple a year ago and, as part of his deal, was released from jail on Friday and ordered to return on Monday morning.

The case began on Sept. 5, 2020, when the Portsmouth post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol got a report of what appeared to be an intoxicated male leaving the Country Store in South Webster after causing a disturbance.

The troopers were searching for Queen’s black van and came upon the scene of a fatal crash.

Upon initial investigation, it was determined that a black 2016 Kia Sedona driven by Queen crossed the center line and struck a 2019 Harley Davidson motorcycle occupied by the LoRena and Steve Cahal.

Lorena Cahal, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene and Steve Cahal, 51 was flown to Cabell-Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, where he died of his injuries on Sept 6, 2020.

On Sept. 16, 2020, the Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Queen with two counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter, one count of driving under suspension or in violation of license restriction and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

On Sept. 1, Queen withdrew not guilty plea in the Scioto County Common Pleas Court and pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. He will be back in court on Sept. 24 to be sentenced.

His bond was modified and he was released from jail Friday and ordered to return on Monday morning, in order to get his affairs in order. He was required not to drink or use drugs, stay at a designated location with family members and wear a GPS monitor.

A call to the Scioto County Jail confirmed that he returned to the jail on Monday.