KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Curtis Harper is going back to prison.
A judge ruled Friday that the man who pleaded guilty to the 2012 deaths of a pregnant woman, her unborn child, and a good Samaritan violated his probation by assaulting his fiance and abusing alcohol.
Harper was serving 13 years of probation for the three deaths that happened in a hit-and-run accident on Washingon Pike. He was living in Middle Tennessee.
The state argued that there is clear evidence that Harper assaulted his fiancé and that he has had several incidents of alcohol abuse while on probation.
The defense countered that there wasn't sufficient evidence and that some fo the evidence was illegally obtained, but Judge Scott Green disagreed.
He cited fresh injuries to the woman and felt there was sufficient evidence that the assault happened. He said he was also greatly concerned about Harper's continued alcohol use, especially considering there was evidence that Harper was driving drunk when he hit and killed Chasity Thornell, her unborn child, and Nelzon Soto.
Judge Green revoked his probation and remanded him back to TDOC to serve out the 7 years remaining on his sentence. Harper will likely get credit for time served however, so many only have 2 to 3 years to wait to be eligible once again for parole.
Original story
A Middle Tennessee man on probation for killing three people in a horrific 2012 crash on Washington Pike will remain in jail in Knox County for at least the next few weeks, a judge decided Friday.
Curtis Scott Harper, 31, is facing the potential loss of his probation status after picking up a new misdemeanor domestic violence charge in Williamson County, where he now lives. Knox County authorities have filed paperwork seeking to revoke him, and last month he turned himself in to await a resolution in the case.
Defense attorney Jeff Whitt sought Friday to get a bond for his client so that Harper can go back to work in Williamson County while the misdemeanor charge is addressed. Harper has not been convicted in that case.
Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green, however, declined. Green said Harper now faces a charge involving violence at a time when he was supposed to remain trouble-free.
Instead, at Whitt's request, Green set a May 26 date to consider what's alleged against Harper in the assault case and how that affects his time on probation. Harper has years left to serve on probation in the deaths of Chasity Thornell, her fetus and Nelzon Soto after crashing into them on Washington Pike in May 2012 while intoxicated.
"The decision today places us in a very precarious situation because we can't fight the (Williamson County) case from the Knox County jail," Whitt said afterward.
Harper's accused of physically fighting with his girlfriend in February in the home they share. Harper was arrested in April.
Harper entered a behavioral treatment program after the incident. Whitt said he's successfully completed that program, and turned himself in last month to Knox County authorities after the probation violation warrant was filed against him.
Whitt said his client has been a model probationer with the exception of the recent alleged fight with his fiancee. He's working at a Home Depot and is a homeowner, Whitt said.
He poses no threat to run, Whitt said.
Harper pleaded guilty in 2016 in Knox County to killing the three victims and got an effective 13-year sentence on probation. He got credit for about three years' time served. But he still has several years left to finish out the probation sentence.
Harper was a University of Tennessee student at the time of the crash. Thornell and Soto were standing on Washington Pike after Thornell's friend's car ran out of gas in the night.