Michael Mestas

A Warren County man accused of fatally striking a bicyclist before driving away from the scene returned to court Monday.

Michael Mestas, 41, of Rockfield, had a pretrial conference in Warren Circuit Court in a case in which he is charged with vehicular homicide when under the influence of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident (death or serious physical injury) and tampering with physical evidence.

Mestas is alleged to have struck Terry Zweig, 46, of Bowling Green, with his vehicle on Louisville Road on or about Jan. 17.

Zweig was found dead the next day just off Louisville Road, and an autopsy documented injuries consistent with a vehicle collision, according to prior testimony.

Mestas, who had previously been represented by a public defender, appeared in court Monday with his newly hired attorney, Jason Hays.

Court records indicated that Mestas, who was arrested Jan. 30, was released from Warren County Regional Jail on June 24 after posting a $10,000 cash bond.

Hays said in court Monday that he had reviewed the written discovery evidence in the case and anticipated going over video files soon, asking for a Sept. 29 court date.

“I feel confident we’ll know where we are on this case then,” Hays said to Warren Circuit Judge John Grise.

The Bowling Green Police Department investigated Zweig’s death, gathering video surveillance footage from the area as well as debris from the crash site to establish that a Dodge pickup truck was involved.

Images of the truck and the suspected driver were posted Jan. 30 on BGPD’s Facebook page, leading to several tips identifying the man as Mestas, which resulted in his arrest that same night on a charge of leaving the scene of an accident/failure to render aid or assistance (with death or serious physical injury).

A charge of evidence tampering was added following a preliminary hearing in Warren District Court, and a grand jury indicted Mestas on the vehicular homicide count in April.

Police suspect Mestas of deleting text messages from his phone near the time of the incident and of ordering a tire to replace one on his truck that had been damaged.

During its investigation, BGPD collected footage of the truck stopped outside UV Liquors on Louisville Road with a man believed to be Mestas walking around outside the vehicle.

Within an hour of BGPD posting the images outside UV Liqours on its social media account, tips started coming in.

“Three or four tips were from individuals that called into dispatch and some more tips came in on our Crimestoppers line,” BGPD Detective Matthew Poore said while testifying in February in Warren District Court

Mestas was contacted by BGPD and agreed to come to police headquarters to speak with detectives.

Poore testified that Mestas told police that the damage to his headlight occurred three weeks prior in Summer Shade, his passenger side mirror was damaged by a falling tree outside his home and his tire was damaged about two weeks earlier while on Louisville Road.

Mestas acknowledged the truck in the post on BGPD’s Facebook page was his vehicle, but he invoked his right to an attorney when asked to elaborate on the damages his truck sustained, Poore said.

Police seized Mestas’ cell phone and were able to talk with two people who said they were in contact with him the night of the incident.

One man told police that Mestas was in Glasgow with him the night of Jan. 17, and that they split a pitcher of margaritas at a restaurant there before going to a bar in Glasgow, where the man estimated that Mestas had four or five beers and three or four shots, Poore said.

Police reviewing Mestas’ phone also contacted an ex-girlfriend who was on a call with him the night of Jan. 17.

“(The ex-girlfriend) said (Mestas) did sound intoxicated and had slurred speech,” Poore said.