Charles City man sentenced to up to 25 years in prison on traffic fatality while driving drunk

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Charles City man who pleaded guilty to killing a Sioux City boy in a traffic collision and injuring several others has been sentenced to serve up to 25 years in prison.

Jesse Duane Blade, age 30, had pleaded guilty to the charge of homicide by vehicle while intoxicated, a Class B felony, for the Oct. 26, 2019, crash that killed Royce G. Fisher, then age 9.

Blade was sentenced this week in Floyd County District Court by Judge DeDra Schroeder.

Schroeder ordered Blade to serve an indeterminate term in prison not to exceed 25 years, with credit for time already served, ordered his driver’s license revoked for six years, ordered him to pay $150,000 in victim restitution and to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and follow any recommendations.

Blade had also pleaded guilty to three charges of serious injury by vehicle, Class D felonies, for causing injuries to three others in the collision.

Schroeder sentenced Blade to up to five years in prison, a $750 fine plus 35% surcharge, and victim restitution on each of the three Class D felonies.

“The court notes that medical expenses of the victims in this case are ongoing and additional requests for restitution will need to be filed,” she said in her order.

Blade had also pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated, second offense, an aggravated misdemeanor, and Schroeder sentenced him to seven days in jail with credit for time served, ordered him to pay a fine of $1,875 plus surcharge of 15% and ordered him to complete a drinking driver’s course as required by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

In return for the guilty pleas, the Floyd County Attorney’s Office asked the court to dismiss another charge, a Class C felony charge of homicide by vehicle due to reckless driving, and Schroeder did so.

The judge ordered that all the prison terms be served concurrently, meaning at the same time instead of one after another.

According to the accident report by the Iowa State Patrol, Blade, then age 29, was driving northbound on Glass Avenue north of Rudd toward the intersection with Rudd Park Road/Business 18, at about 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday.

Blade failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection and struck broadside a minivan that was headed east on Rudd Park Road.

According to court records, a toxicology test showed Blade’s blood alcohol level was 0.137% and also tested positive for cocaine.

The report said Blade was driving 53 mph in a 25 mph speed zone when he went through the stop sign.

Injured in the crash were three other people who were with Royce Fisher in the vehicle that Blade hit. They are Ronald Paul Fisher, then age 57, the driver; Sarah June Fisher, then age 50; and Aidyn D. Kline, then age 11; all of Mason City.

Ronald and Sarah Fisher are Royce Fisher’s paternal grandparents, and Kline was Royce’s friend, according to Fisher’s obituary. All three sustained broken bones and other injuries in the crash, according to court documents.