District Attorney taking Stewart/Ward case to a grand jury

The Ontario County Sheriff's Office completed their investigation into the death of Kevin Ward Jr. last week and gave the evidence to the DA's office. It's now been announced that the case will be taken to a grand jury for further review.

What does it mean to take the case to a grand jury?

A grand jury is not the same as a trial jury. Stewart has not been officially charged. The purpose of the grand jury is to determine whether or not charges should be filed.

District Attorney statement

In a statement, Ontario County DA Michael Tantillo said "Over the past several weeks, I have reviewed with members of the Ontario County Sheriff's Department their investigation, as it progressed, in the Tony Stewart matter. Recently that office concluded its work and forwarded the complete case file to me."

"Upon my review of all of the information contained in the entire investigation, I have made the determination that it would be appropriate to submit the evidence to a grand jury, for their determination as to what action should be taken in this matter."

"Accordingly, the evidence developed in the investigation will be presented to an Ontario County grand jury in the near future."

The DA is not giving a specific date, nor will they state who will be called as a witness to testify. Tantillo ended it by saying that the public and the media will be informed upon its completion.

Stewart will continue to race - NASCAR monitoring situation

Tony Stewart also released a statement, saying that he will continue to provide full cooperation. Stewart-Haas Racing confirmed that Stewart will race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. NASCAR added that they will monitor the process but that it would be inappropriate for them to make any further comment on the case at this time.