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Tuesday, 19 December 2006 16:37 |
Shue acquitted of murder,
sentenced to 90 days in jail
A jury acquitted Bracken Douglas Shue of murder last Friday, opting instead to convict him of misdemeanor death by vehicle, as well as other lesser charges.
Shue, 25, had faced second-degree murder and manslaughter charges related to the death of Jennifer Kristin Williams, 25, who in a Feb 19 car crash on Mills Gap Road that prosecutors said resulted from Shue speeding.
In addition to the death-by-vehicle charge, the jury found Shue guilty of speeding in excess of 15 mph, improperly passing another vehicle, reckless driving and driving with a revoked license. Shue was sentenced to 90 days in jail, the maximum penalty allowed for the offenses.
Judge James Baker said he considered Shueës past convictions, including driving while intoxicated, when deciding on a sentence.
Shue was also
acquitted of engaging in a speed competition, though witnesses said
Shue was racing with a friend, William Baxter Taylor II, at the time of
the crash.
Defense
attorneys had claimed that Taylor forced Shue off the road. Tayor, who
faces the same charges that Shue had faced, will be tried later.
Williamsë
father, who said he tried to hate Shue but could not, had pushed for a
lenient sentence, though other family members had urged the judge to
impose a harsher penalty.
However, the jury reached its verdict after a day and a half of deliberations, which began about 9:30 a.m. last Thursday.
Jurors took a
recess from 11:40 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that day to allow one of the jurors
to complete a real estate transaction and resumed deliberations on
Friday.
Jurors on
Thursday had requested transcripts of testimony by defense and
prosecution accident experts. However, Baker said they would have to
rely on their recollections of the testimony.
While it would have been possible to prepare the documents, the process would have taken too long, Baker said.
However, the juryës request for pictures and diagrams of the accident was granted.
A turning point
in the trial was testimony from the defense accident reconstruction
expert, Steve Farlow of Raleigh, which contradicted that of Trooper
Robert Grayson, an N.C. Highway Patrol vehicle crash specialist.
Grayson testified that the speed Shue was driving had caused the car to fly off and hit a tree as it rounded a curve.
However, Farlow
claimed that Shue was forced off the road by Taylor because the latter
could not handle the speed he was driving.
According to
juror Brent Holland, a 32-year-old Asheville Realtor, the jury flatly
ruled out murder charges after determining that no malice was involved
in the accident. He noted that while one or two jurors had initially
thought Shue should be convicted of manslaughter, they later changed
their minds.
Defense attorney
Sean Devereux had subpoenaed Taylor, but he was allowed not to testify
in court. Taylorës father, William Taylor, owns Taylor Ranch near
Fletcher. Prosecutors would not comment on what impact the verdict will
have on Taylorës trial, which is not scheduled yet.
Devereux said
Shue, who was put on suicide watch after operations on his his ankle,
which may have to be amputated, is wracked with regret about the
accident.
Father, son face charges
of murdering two S.C. men
CANDLER ÇƒÓ Buncombe County sheriffës deputies arrested a father and son on murder charges last Thursday.
Louis Kenneth Richey, 59, and Phillip Louis Richey, 26 are accused of killing two men in Belton, S.C., on Dec. 12.
The suspects
were hiding at a brotherës house off Justice Ridge Road in Candler,
where they were arrested about 8:45 p.m. on fugitive warrants that had
been issued by the Anderson County (S.C.) Sheriffës Office.
Anderson County investigators reportedly learned of the menës location after conducting several interviews.
Deputies identified the victims as Shandon Marquis Putnam, 25, and Carrol Bincent Martin, 36.
The Anderson County coroner reported that Putnam was shot several times and Martin died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Deputies did not release a motive or other details of the crime.
Each man was being held on a $500,000 bond at the Buncombe County Detention Center.
Swannanoa teenager killed
while crossing Highway 70
Swannanoa ÇƒÓ A 13-year-old boy died last Wednesday when he was hit by a truck while trying to cross U.S. 70.
Larry Dale Bass
was struck about 6:13 p.m., after being dropped off by his stepfather
near the highwayës intersection with Whitson Avenue.
He was then
knocked into the path of a second vehicle, a car that was traveling the
same direction, and was hit a second time, police said.
Both cars were
driving under the 45 mph speed limit and had a green light when they
hit Bass. Police have not charged either driver.
The teen was
crossing the highway diagonally at an intersection with no crosswalks
or pedestrian signals. He was headed towards a nearby church group,
officials said.
Bass was taken to Mission Hospitals where he was pronounced dead.
Police seeking information
about alleged check thief
Police are on
the lookout for someone who has been stealing checks from mailboxes
around Buncombe County and cashing them at local banks.
Officials say
that the thief removes checks people have placed in their mailboxes and
washes the ink off before rewriting his name on them.
The thefts started in November and continued through Dec. 7, according to Asheville-Buncombe Crime Stoppers.
The suspect has
been cashing the checks under the alias of Fabian Paul Urioste, using a
Florida driverës license as identification.
Witnesses have
reported seeing the man in a white car with a gray lower body ǃÓ
possibly a 1998 Oldsmobile, Crime Stoppers reported.
Anyone with information about the thefts is urged to call 255-5050 or Buncombe County sheriffës detectives at 250-4436.
Bridge on I-40 dedicated
to Trooper George C. Penn
The bridge on
I-40 at Exit 53 that crosses over US 74-A as officially renamed the
Trooper George C. Penn Bridge on Dec. 8 in recognition of Pennës
service to the state and Buncombe County.
Penn was slain on Aug. 22, 1937 by gunshot wounds inflicted by two escaped felons in a stolen car.
The ceremony was
held at Gashes Creek Baptist Church on Gashes Creek Road. Attendees
included Bryan E. Beatty, secretary of the department of crime control
and Col. W. Fletcher Clay, commander of the N.C. State Highway Patrol.
Wrecker services sought
by Asheville Police Dept.
The Asheville Police Department is accepting applications for inclusion on the departmentës call list for wrecker services.
All wrecker
companies that meet the cityës towing service requirements and have the
requisite availability may apply at any point before Dec. 29.
Applications and
the list of requirements is available at the police information desk in
the Municipal Building, located at 100 Court Plaza. After the
application period is over, the police department will establish
on-call lists and rotation assignments.
For more information, call 259-5969.
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