A Cedar Hill man with at least one previous conviction for driving while intoxicated is now facing a murder charge stemming from a November 2019 crash that left a Dittmer man dead, according to court records.
Richard Louis Nicely Jr., 33, of the 8400 block of Lake Drive was charged Feb. 25 with second-degree murder – vehicular, a class A felony; DWI – death of another not a passenger, a class B felony; DWI – chronic offender, a class C felony; DWI – serious physical injury, a class D felony; and leaving the scene of an accident – property damage exceeding $1,000, a class E felony, court document said.
He was charged with felony murder because someone died during his alleged commission of another felony, the class C DWI.
The class A felony in punishable by 10 to 30 years or life in prison; the class B felony is punishable by five to 15 years in prison; the class C felony is punishable by three to 10 years in prison; the class D felony carries a penalty of up to seven years; and the class E felony is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Nicely was on probation at the time of the crash. He had pleaded guilty to a DWI – aggravated charge in January 2019 tied to a November 2017 incident in Jefferson County, court records show.
At that time, he was sentenced to five years in prison. However, he was released in July 2019 after completing a treatment program, according to court documents.
Then, at 12:13 p.m. Nov. 29, 2019, Nicely reportedly was driving a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan north on Hwy. B and the minivan traveled into the southbound lane north of Janssens Lake Road east of Dittmer and hit of a 1996 Chrysler Concorde head-on. Paul D. Scaglione, 88, of Dittmer, who was driving the Concorde, died in the accident, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported.
A passenger in the Concorde – Joann Scaglione, 87, of Dittmer – was seriously injured and transported by Big River Ambulance to Mercy Hospital St. Louis in Creve Coeur for treatment, the report said.
Nicely also was injured in the crash and was transported to Mercy Hospital South, where he was arrested that day for suspicion of DWI, according to the report.
Nicely’s probation was revoked on Feb. 5, court documents said.
He currently is in the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.