Facebook effort to prevent plea bargain for Devine

MISHAWAKA — Thursday, the Mishawaka man accused of causing the car crash that claimed the life of Corporal James Szuba and his K-9 Ricky is due in court. Shawn Devine is scheduled for a hearing at 8 a.m. And with Devine's past criminal history, a lot of people are watching what happens with this case. Many of those people are on a site that has sprung up on Facebook. The site is called "Cpl. James Szuba and his partner, K9 Officer Ricky deserve JUSTICE!" Cpl. James Szuba and his partner, K9 Officer Ricky deserve JUSTICE! The site has around 4,000 fans and the basic message they want to send to St. Joseph County Prosecutor, Mike Dvorak, is that they don't want any kind of plea agreement offered in a case the claimed the life of an officer and a K-9. “We won’t stand by and let these repeat offenders keep on taking out our heroes,” said Tony Deerberg who has become active on the site. Deerberg is trying to help draft the petition. The Facebook group was founded by Cassie Walker, a 2009 Mishawaka High School graduate. “He killed an officer and his partner and we’re tired of Shawn getting let free and getting a slap on the wrist,” Walker said. It appears that Cpl. Szuba’s wife, Debbie, has posted on the site. That posting says,”…they deserve JUSTICE, a loving husband, father and such a special family companion not just a dog DESERVE JUSTICE…” St. Joseph County Prosecutor, Mike Dvorak, provided WSBT with a three-page written response. “National Prosecution Standards states that a prosecutor should not release the information about the possibility of a plea of guilty to the offense charged or to a lesser offense or other disposition,” Dvorak wrote. “The Prosecutor’s Office has charged all that the law allows on the basis of the evidence recovered by the Fatal Alcohol Crash Team (FACT) investigators in this case.” “…the extent of the media coverage of Shawn Devine’s criminal history and of speculation by an online group about possible resolutions of the case will only serve to ensure that the defendant cannot receive a fair trial in St. Joseph County.” “The Prosecutor’s Office cannot, and will not, participate in a public debate that almost assuredly will result in a request for a change of venue, or a later appeal on the basis that the defendant could not be tried fairly due to extensive media coverage of his background and speculation about the case.” Read the prosecutor’s response