REDUCED | 2 COUNTS of SECOND DEGREE MURDER and 1 COUNT of AGGRAVATED ASSAULT DANGEROUS REDUCED to AGGRAVATED ASSAULT NON DANGEROUS with 4.5 YEARS of PRISON – State v. Mr. M. (DMC No. 7863) (Maricopa County Superior Court CR2006-009509): Mr. M. and two other friends were challenging another car to a drag race on the I-17. Mr. M. was in the passenger seat, and when both cars got side to side, Mr. M. hung out of the window with a baseball bat and struck the other car. After he got back into the car as both vehicles were travelling 100 mph, they collided. The other vehicle went off the roadway and two of the three passengers were killed. Mr. M. was subsequently charged with 2 counts of second degree murder and 1 count of aggravated assault dangerous. We were able to convince the Prosecutor, by using an accident reconstruction expert, that Mr. M. was not the causal factor in the crash. In exchange for dismissing both counts of second degree murder and reducing the aggravated assault dangerous to a non dangerous, we secured an open range offer in which Mr. M. was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. He was originally facing a potential of 59 years in prison.
