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Not guilty plea entered for man in drunk-driving crash
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Bauman
MONROE - A Monroe man charged with severely injuring a woman in a drunk-driving traffic crash had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf Tuesday after he stood mute on his charges.

Barry J. Bauman, 41, declined to enter a plea on two Class F felony charges of injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, a Class I felony count of reckless driving causing great bodily harm, a Class I felony count of possession of marijuana and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bauman's attorney, Guy Taylor, waived Bauman's right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday and requested to move to arraignment. Green County Judge James Beer agreed and entered a plea of not guilty on Bauman's behalf.

Taylor also filed a motion for the substitution of the judge. Beer subsequently recused himself from the case, although his replacement has not yet been confirmed.

Bauman was charged in October after being involved in a crash in May, when a passenger in his vehicle, Sara J. Horton, 38, Richland Center, sustained severe injuries after Bauman apparently lost control of his vehicle in the N6300 block of County J, Town of Adams.

Horton's injuries reportedly included a collapsed lung, a fractured shoulder and multiple spinal and rib fractures. According to police reports, Horton said she could not feel her body below the waist after being ejected from the vehicle.

After the crash, Bauman admitted to having consumed multiple beers and smoked marijuana before the crash. Marijuana and smoking paraphernalia were found in the wreckage of his vehicle.

Bauman will appear in court for a pre-trial conference Jan. 24. The maximum possible sentence for his charges is 18 years in prison.