DEKALB COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – The driver accused of killing Master Trooper James Bailey now faces a murder charge, the DeKalb County Prosecuting Attorney announced Thursday.

Terry DeWaine Sands II, 42, of Marion is charged with murder in the death of Bailey, a state trooper who was placing stop sticks on I-69 in Auburn to deter Sands when the driver hit him.

Terry Sands
Photo of Terry Sands provided by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Dept.

The prosecution is requesting life without parole for Sands, who also now faces charges of operating with a controlled substance causing death, a Level 4 felony, and a misdemeanor count of resisting law enforcement.

Sands was initially charged with resisting law enforcement causing death, a Level 2 felony.

According to the probable cause affidavit, another officer witnessed the car as it “drove directly towards Master Trooper Bailey.”

In court documents, Sands claimed “the officer ran in front of him.” He also said he smoked marijuana within an hour of the crash and was on his way to buy more marijuana in Michigan.

“They said I was going 80 or 90 mph, but it could not have been that fast,” Sands is quoted as saying in court records. He claimed he was going 70 mph and road conditions were bad because of the heavy snow.

Sands appeared in court for the initial hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday, and the prosecution brought a witness to the stand.

First Sergeant Brooks Johnson explained there are multiple videos of the incident from police dash cameras and from people driving on the highway around that time. There was no evidence that showed Master Trooper Bailey jumped in front of Sands’ vehicle– nor did Sands attempt to swerve out of the way as he claimed.

Investigators concluded stop sticks never made it onto the road, which was what Master Trooper Bailey was attempting to do.

The courtroom was filled with more than a dozen Indiana State Troopers, as well has a handful of officers from the Auburn Police Department, Noble County Sheriff’s Department and Butler Police.