Suspect arrested in Saxon fatality

By RALPH ANSAMI

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MOUNT MORRIS, N.Y. — A Superior, Wis., man who faces charges in the March 27 traffic death of Amanda Schiiller, formerly of Ironwood, was arrested on a warrant Saturday in Mount Morris.

Jesse Troy Gasper, 34, who absconded to New York after a warrant was issued for his arrest on June 26, will be returned to Iron County to face charges of homicide by a vehicle with use of a controlled substance, two other felonies and two misdemeanors.

He was arrested in New York at a hospital, where he went for injuries after allegedly jumping from a second-story balcony while he was fleeing from police. That information was received by the Daily Globe, but not confirmed by Iron County authorities.

Iron County District Attorney Matt Tingstad said Monday morning that Gasper faces an extradition hearing in New York. If he waives extradition, he will be transported to Hurley as soon as can be arranged, but if he fights extradition, governors from both states would need to sign documents to bring him back.

Schiiller, 31, of Menominee, was a passenger in a car driven by Gasper, who was seriously injured in the 3:53 a.m. crash with a logging truck on U.S. 2, near the Saxon cemetery.

Schiiller had been driving earlier that morning, but Gasper apparently took the wheel in Ashland. The two were headed east toward Ironwood when the accident occurred.

A Wisconsin State Patrol accident reconstructionist was called into the investigation after the crash caused the closure of the highway and detours.

Schiiller, a 2005 graduate of Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood, was pronounced dead at the scene. She is survived by four children.

The other charges against Gasper include possession of THC, the active ingredient of marijuana; operating with a suspended license, causing death; operating under a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Tingstad said the extradition proceedings may take as long as two weeks.