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Brad Makula, left, rides across the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge on May 17, 2013. A man riding on the bridge the night of November 9, 2012 was struck and seriously injured by a man heading home after a night of eating and drinking in Ohio City.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

Gregory Schillo

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Sagamore Hills man sentenced to five years in prison for hitting and seriously injuring a bicyclist on the Lorain Carnegie Bridge after an evening with friends at Ohio City breweries has been granted a new trial.

Gregory Schillo is free on bond after spending a year in prison.

He had his first pretrial Wednesday before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams, who found him guilty of aggravated vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated following a bench trial in June, 2013.

The victim, David Gamble, is a quadriplegic. He has filed a civil lawsuit against Schillo, Great Lakes Brewing Company and Bar 25 LLC.

Schillo's sentence was recently vacated by the Eighth District Court of Appeals, which ruled Collier-Williams should not have admitted as evidence an anonymous letter claiming Schillo was extremely intoxicated that night.

"We are mindful that the evidence of the contents of the anonymous letter was admitted in a bench trial, with no jury to be prejudiced by the evidence," said the ruling by Judges Patricia Ann Blackmon, Mary Boyle and Blackmon and Kathleen Ann Keough. "And yet, the evidence is no less inadmissible, and the inference is no less forbidden."

Schillo's attorney, Ian Friedman, filed a motion Thursday asking that the case be assigned to another judge. The motion said the request was to avoid any appearance of impropriety because Collier-Williams presided over the first trial and made several statements during sentencing regarding her opinion of Schillo and what occurred.

The new trial will focus on the investigation and Gamble's bicycle, which could not be found for the first trial but was discovered in a police evidence room by an investigator, Friedman said.

"The appellate court validated our contention that the State of Ohio failed to produce crucial evidence in advance of trial to the prior defense team," Friedman said of the letter. "This conduct violated Mr. Schillo's right to a fair trial and with all the evidence now known we will proceed to trial, confident that Mr. Schillo will be completely exonerated this time. Everyone's heart goes out to Mr. Gamble but the tragedy does not change the fact that this was still an accident."

According to the appeals court ruling, Schillo, 32, his wife and several other couples from the Brecksville Pre-School Mother's Club met for dinner at Market Garden Brewery at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, 2012.

Prior to and after the dinner, Schillo, his wife and several couples had drinks at Great Lakes.

Receipts from both places show Schillo bought nine high-alcohol beers.

At 11:15 p.m. Schillo left the bar and drove his 2004 Jeep Cherokee east on the bridge. The right lane of the two eastbound lanes was marked to indicate it was to be shared by bicyclists and motorists.

Gamble testified he crossed the bridge every weeknight to a security guard job and rode in the middle of the lane so vehicles pass him in the left lane. That night he was wearing black jeans, a jacket with red sleeves and a black backpack with a diagonal reflector. He had reflectors on his pedals.

According to testimony, one of Schillo's friends driving behind him saw him switch lanes, pass two cars and go into the right lane. She did not see the collision but testified he had been drinking.

A man driving in the left lane behind Schillo testified he saw Gamble and slowed down so Schillo could move from the right to the left lane. Instead, he saw Schillo hit Gamble.

Officers who responded testified Schillo's speech was slurred and he appeared to have been drinking. He refused to perform a field sobriety test or take a breathalyzer test.

Those with Schillo that night testified they saw him drink one to three beers. Schillo testified he drank three beers between 6 and 9 p.m. and his wife drank the other six beers. He said he did not did not see Gamble until it was too late.

There was one non-working street light near where the accident occurred.

When Schillo's defense attorney questioned the lead investigator, the detective said he received an anonymous letter that said Schillo was extremely intoxicated and listed names and phone numbers of seven females who had been with him that night.

The detective mentioned the letter in his report but defense attorneys didn't notice the reference and prosecutors did not provide the letter prior to the trial.

Prosecutors told the judge they didn't plan on using the letter but it could then be considered since the detective mentioned it under questioning by defense attorneys.

Collier-Williams overruled an objection by Schillo's attorneys and admitted the letter.

When she issued her verdict, Collier-Williams cited the evidence presented at trial including that Schillo was drinking, was warned by pavement markings on the bridge that a bicyclist could be in the right lane and the light on the bridge was sufficient to see Gamble.

When she issued her verdict, she did not indicate she found the letter relevant nor did she say it was inadmissible, the appeals court wrote.

But there was a risk that the contents had some relevance to her verdict since she admitted the letter and never said she didn't consider it, the ruling said.