ST. CHARLES – Hailey Zenk had a second chance.

After listening to statements from surviving family members of the three individuals she killed in a February 2023 drunk driving accident, Judge Michael Fargas ruled on the side of leniency, citing Zenk’s youth before suspending her 10year prison sentence.

“I’m looking at a child here. She was a child (17) when this occurred,” he said at the June 10 sentencing in St. Charles. “[But] I have to see what is the best outcome possible. I have to weigh both and balance the hurt and pain that the families have suffered and what’s in the best interest of society here going forward.”

And with that, Zenk was sent to the county jail for 120 days followed by five years of probation with a second chance the families of Kaeden Tyler, Emily Mc-Nees and William Flickinger questioned if she deserved.

But 30 days into that second chance, Zenk allegedly ran afoul of the conditions of her probation, tampering with an electronic device that monitors alcohol in her system.

Following her release from the St. Charles County jail, a contracted third party installed a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) system on Zenk’s ankle.

According to the providing company’s website, the device can monitor an individual’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) through emissions through the skin.

Court records indicate the device was installed and activated Oct. 22, but on Nov. 23, 30 days later, it transmitted a signal that it was being tampered with for more than six hours, according to Lincoln County vvice started working but then on Saturday, it again sent a tampered message, this time for nearly 24 hours.

During this time, Wood said they did receive a notification the device had detect-

Haley Zenk (pictured above) was arrested on December 11 due to probation violations that included tampering with her SCRAM device (Submitted photo).

receive a notification the device had detected alcohol, but could not confirm if it was the result of consuming it or coming into contact with an alcohol-containing item such as cleaners or lotions.

“Those (tampering reports) are obviously very concerning because it prevents the device from being able to function correctly,” Wood said. “And with a case as big and important as this, there’s a lot of risk involved with this person being on probation and so we have to take every violation seriously.”

After receiving notification from the SCRAM monitor system last week, Wood filed a motion Monday to revoke Zenk’s probation.

Following that filing, the same judge who granted Zenk that second chance issued a warrant for her arrest for violating probation by interfering with the monitoring system.

Zenk turned herself in to St. Charles County authorities Wednesday night and was later released after posting a $20,000 cash-only bond.

Wood said in an interview with The Journal when these devices are installed, the subjects being monitored are thoroughly instructed as to how they function and the role they play in their probation.

“Before they put on these SCRAM devices, and this is important to note, they make sure it is the responsibility of the person wearing the device to make sure that device is functioning properly and that it’s not blocked from being able to touch the skin,” Wood said.

Zenk will next appear in a courtroom for a hearing in front of a new judge as Fagras is retiring. After listening to Zenk’s explanation for the tampering and alcohol contact alerts, that judge will decide whether to revoke her probation and how much of her 10-year-prison sentence, if any, The date of that hearing has yet to be set, but whenever it occurs, Wood said they expect to have a lot more information from the SCRAM device. He told The Journal the monitoring company is running diagnostics on the device which will provide additional data such as what caused the tamper, whether the detected alcohol was consumed by Zenk, and where she was during the alerts.

she will serve.

“That could be anything from I’m going continue you on probation, but let this be a warning to you. Don’t let it happen again,” Wood said. “He could give her a weekend in jail. He could add additional conditions to her probation, or he could just revoke her probation and say, you know what, you had a chance, you messed it up, and I’m sending you to 10 years.”

Despite the real possibility Zenk could be facing significant prison time, some of the parent’s still grieving the loss of their children in the horrific accident are skeptical.

“Obviously, we want to see justice. But obviously, the justice system failed before and didn’t put her in jail,” said Douglas Meyers, Tyler’s step father. “We believe she is going to get probation again. She’s not going to go to jail.”