Philip Slezewski appears before Manitowoc County court, via Zoom, April 5, 2024. (Manitowoc County court/Zoom)
MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A judge raised the cash bond five-fold Tuesday for the suspect in a Christmas Day crash which killed his wife and mother, after new charges were filed alleging he had marijuana and cocaine in his system.
Philip Slezewski, 39, faces 14 charges, including two counts of homicide by use vehicle with use of a controlled substance, and two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty.
After the crash, Slezewski told police had used marijuana and cocaine less than a day before the crash. Drug-related charges were not filed until last week, however, because lab test results had not been returned earlier.
Motorists are allowed to have some alcohol in their system — under .08 BAC — and still drive legally. However, in Wisconsin, any detectable amount of illegal drugs can result in intoxicated use a vehicle and related charges.
With the new charges, District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre asked for the bond to be increased. She noted the test results found marijuana and cocaine in Slezewski’s blood.
Defense attorney Ann Larsen had previously asked for the $10,000 cash bond to be reduced. She noted he has been unable to post that amount, it was his own admission to drug use which led to the tests, and there was no sign of impairment when he was driving. Larsen also objected to bond being raised.
While noting the purpose of bond is to ensure court appearances, and is not intended to be punishment, Judge Robert DeWane said the addition of the drug-related charges meant an increase in bond to $50,000 cash was appropriate.
A status conference is scheduled for Friday. No trial date has been set.
The crash happened on I-43 at about 2:45 p.m. Slezewski’s wife, Heather Arcaro-Slezewski, 38, and his mother, Clarine, 71, died in the crash. Slezewski originally faced charges for allegedly not having a valid driver’s license at the time.
Slezewski told police in December he had done cocaine and marijuana less than 24 hours before the crash.
According to the criminal complaint:
Prior to collecting the blood, PHILIP said something to the effect of, “I did a couple lines of coke,” and estimated he did so at approx. 2100 hours on 12/24/23 when he was in Chicago. PHILIP also admitted to smoking marijuana Delta 9 THC at approx. 1800 hours on 12/24/23 when he was in Chicago.
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