The New York State Parole Board has granted an early release to the man convicted of killing an 18-year-old Auburn student while driving drunk in the summer of 2016.
In a news release Tuesday, Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said Dain Schneider, 41, was released April 30 "in the face of strong opposition from this office and the community."
Schneider killed student Chloe Calhoun on East Lake Road in Owasco, just outside Tom Thumb Drive-In, on July 17, 2016. He was driving nearly 100 mph 鈥 about 50 mph over the speed limit 鈥 and his blood alcohol content was .23%. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide that August, and was sentenced that October to seven to 24 years in prison, which Grome Antonacci called "lenient."
Citing state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision statistics, the district attorney said that parole releases of convicted felons increased more than 14% from 2023 to 2024.
Grome Antonacci also said her office has sent multiple letters to the state Parole Board in opposition to Schneider's early release, most recently in December.
"The Parole Board鈥檚 decision was an insult to Chloe鈥檚 memory and an injustice to the community. The decision also endangers our community, because in the past, only incarceration has stopped this individual from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated,"聽Grome Antonacci said, referencing Schneider's two DWI convictions prior to the fatal crash.聽
"New York鈥檚 lenient sentencing laws allowed for Schneider鈥檚 early release," she continued. "If you share our frustration with the sentencing laws for impaired and intoxicated vehicular homicides, and the early release of these individuals, I strongly encourage you to contact your local state senator and Assembly member.鈥
Rori Calhoun speaks at the start of the Chloe Calhoun Memorial Softball Game, in memory of Rori's daughter, at Falcon Park on Saturday.
Kelly Rocheleau, 水果派AV
Executive Editor David Wilcox can be reached at (315) 282-2245 or david.wilcox@lee.net.
