HAZELWOOD HAS FELONY CHARGES FOLDED INTO ONE

The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE- The fired skipper of the Exxon tanker that spilled nearly 11 million gallons of oil in Prince William Sound now faces trial on one felony instead of three.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Karl Johnstone signed an order Thursday granting Joseph Hazelwood's request that three felony counts of criminal mischief be folded into a single count because the charges all related to a single incident.

Hazelwood still faces misdemeanor charges of operating a vessel while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and negligent discharge of oil. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 22.

The single felony charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The misdemeanor charges' combined maximum penalties total 21|2 years in prison and $11,000 in fines.

Prosecutors wanted events before the Exxon Valdez's March 24 grounding considered apart from those after the grounding. But in the consolidation order issued Thursday, Johnstone said the events "are more properly viewed as a single continuous transaction, rather than a series of individual, distinct acts. Captain Hazelwood was in charge of a single oil tanker, carrying a single load of crude oil."

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