The Felony Case

• The man who plowed into my family's car ran away from the scene of the crash, leaving my wife and boys to suffer their fates. Several things have happened as a result.
  • First, although the investigating agents suspected that there was alcohol or drugs involved, there was no way to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that the driver was under the influence. He did not turn himself in until 14 hours after the crash. All evidence would have been erased by that time. As a result, the driver was only charged with a traffic violation (misdemeanor) for the crash itself that caused the death of my son.

  • The only reason why we even know who killed my son is that the license tag of the truck fell off at the scene of the crash.

  • There was nothing that anyone could do to prove that the driver was "reckless" or "under the influence" causing the crash. Colorado law prevented the driver from being charged with a felony for the crash.

  • However, the driver purposefully fled the scene of an accident that resulted in serious injury and death. Because of that, the driver was charged with two felonies. One count was for leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death. The other was for leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a serious injury. The District Attorney then prosecuted him to the fullest extent that the law allowed for those two charges. That was the the best they could do. The maximum penalty would have been two consecutive 6-year jail terms.

• Current Status and Case Resolution:

  • The legal proceedings are now completed. Arraignment was held Monday, November 15, 2004. The defendant pled "not guilty" to all charges and requested a trial by jury. The jury trial was scheduled for March 15, 2005.

  • However, after the arraignment in November, the defendant later chose to change his plea from "not guilty" to "guilty" for the two felony charges, in exchange for concurrent (at the same time) and not consecutive (back-to-back) sentences. We accepted this plea bargain. The guilty plea was formally entered in court at the pre-trial conference on February 7th, 2005. The scheduled trial was cancelled and the case moved directly to sentencing.

  • The sentencing hearing was held on May 13, 2005, nearly one year after Timmy's death. Judge Curry heard eight statements from people representing us as the victims and saw the powerpoint presentation found elsewhere on this website. Then he heard four statements from people representing the defendant. The defendant's attorney spoke followed by the District Attorney's representative.

  • Judge Curry considered all the options ranging from community corrections (like a half-way house), to probation, to department of corrections (prison) ranging from two to six years.

  • The defendant was sentenced to four years in the department of corrections. He was handcuffed and led away to begin his sentence immediately. He is currently being held at a minimum security prison facility in Colorado.

  • The defendant was eligible for parole in February, 2007. This must not have been successful, because he is scheduled again for a parole hearing in September, 2007.

  
  

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