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Trial date set for Richmond man charged with killing friend in boating crash

Rand Hooper
Posted at 9:02 AM, Jan 31, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-31 09:02:08-05

LANCASTER COUNTY, Va. -- A trial date has been set for the Richmond man charged in connection with a deadly boating crash in Lancaster County.

Rand Hooper will have a jury trial that will begin on June 21, but not in Lancaster County.

Instead both the prosecution and defense agreed to have the trial, which is slated to last five days, will take place in Norfolk.

Investigators said he was piloting a boat that wrecked in the Rappahannock River in August of 2017.

Graham McCormick was thrown out of the boat and later died.

Investigators said Hooper was intoxicated and left the scene without trying to help his friend.

Hooper was charged with felony homicide as well as involuntary manslaughter under the influence of a watercraft and failing to stop and assist causing serious injury or death.

Felony homicide carries a punishment of up to 40 years in prison, while a person charged with involuntary manslaughter could serve up to 10 years.

The original prosecutor, Jan Smith, recently lost his law license over his handling of the case.

This case has seen many twists and turns since the boat crash back in August 2017 on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County.

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