ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The common pleas court judges each handed down a sentence Monday for serious crimes.

Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato imposed a sentence of a minimum of eight years and a maximum of 12 in the case of Donald Shriver, 27, of 51880 Ohio 145, Beallsville, for aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony occurring Jan. 13, 2021. His driver’s license was also permanently revoked.

The incident reportedly took place close to a bar outside Beallsville after Shriver was leaving. His two passengers, Josh Stewart, 23, of Clarington, and Cody Mundy, 25, of Beallsville, were killed. Shriver entered a plea of guilty to causing the deaths while under the influence of alcohol.

Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan said that the events were absolutely tragic and senseless. According to Flanagan, Shriver was under the influence of alcohol when his car went off the right side of the roadway striking a tree.

Flanagan added the families of Mundy and Stewart “will forever deal with this loss, and while Judge Fregiato was sending a clear message with his tough sentence, it unfortunately will do very little to temper the immeasurable pain that the families continue to feel.”

“We appreciate the judge’s sentence but there are no winners in this case,” Flanagan said. “The families of Cody and Josh do not deserve this pain, and even the family of Donald Shriver, because of his sentence, now must deal with the effects of his decision to drive impaired on that fateful night.”

Flanagan reflected that the job of he and his staff has its share of heartaches, especially when dealing with victims or their loved ones of tragic events. He added that this type of case is incredibly difficult because it is also completely avoidable.

“Simply put, if you plan to drink, find someone else to drive,” he said. “I wish the public could see what these families have to go through in situations like this. … “Too many times victims of drinking and driving crashes can be viewed as a statistic. That is so unfair. They’re not statistics. In this case, they were two young men with their lives ahead of them. And now, their families are left trying to cope with unimaginable heartache.”

Also, Belmont County Common Pleas Judge John Vavra imposed a sentence of three years on former Bellaire High School teacher Kyle Michalo, 28, of 1789 Township Road 106, Rayland. He had pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual battery and fifth-degree dissemination of material harmful to a juvenile from May 2021 through August 2021.

Michalo was designated a Tier 3 offender and required to register with his local sheriff’s office every 90 days for life.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the reported victims were students and the crimes occurred within the school district. Belmont County Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan did not describe how authorities found out about the offenses. He had said there was at least one instance of sexual conduct involving a student and one occurrence of a photograph being shared.

Flanagan said both victims were female and the charges were not related to age of consent, but due to the position of authority Michalo had at the time. He added he believed prison time to be appropriate, although it is not strictly mandated by law.

The court noted several victims and family members spoke during the sentencing.

According to a statement from the Bellaire Local School District, school officials shared information with the authorities as soon as they were made aware of alleged inappropriate behavior on July 7 and placed Michalo on leave while an internal investigation was started.