A jury trial date has been set for March 11th for a Mt. Morris man following the death of an Oregon teen this past summer during a drinking party.
33-year old Justin Coltrain has been arrested on the charge of a hate crime and battery.
18-year old Jonathan Williams of Oregon died from a head injury following an altercation that occurred on August 10th.
Ogle County officials say that Coltrain and 22-year old Matthew Steder of Mt. Morris, both white, are accused of starting a fight as they allegedly attacked some black people at the party at a home in Oregon. Authorities say that race was a motivating factor in the altercation.
Witnesses told Oregon police that Williams had chased another individual who then struck the teen in self defense.
In Ogle County court yesterday, Coltrain was also given a pre-trial conference date of March 5th prior to his jury trial on the 11th.
Bond was also reduced from $100,000 to $50,000. Coltrain was in jail in Whiteside County.
Charges were filed against 9 people following the fight.
Steder was charged with 3 counts of a hate crime along with aggravated battery and 2 counts of battery.
