State v. Mr. U (DMC No. 17786) – Felony Vehicular Second Degree Murder Dangerous (.223 BAC and Marijuana) with Car Traveling over 120 Miles Per Hour, and Felony Vehicular Aggravated Assault – Reduced to Manslaughter (with 9 years and 9 months actual DOC) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2021-002065)
Mr. U was 24 years old, and had been with two friends and drinking at a bar. Eventually, all three got into Mr. U’s Volkswagen Jetta and began driving. One of the passengers called his girlfriend to come and pick him up because he was let out of the car after he told Mr. U that he was “driving so crazy.”
A short time after that, a Peoria Police Officer saw Mr. U’s vehicle driving at a high rate of speed. The Officer estimated it to be over 100 miles per hour, and he began to pursue. Later, traffic cameras showed Mr. U’s car to be going in excess of 120 miles per hour. As the Officer was chasing Mr. U and they approached Peoria Avenue, the road curved to the left, and Mr. U was now going about 85 miles per hour. He failed to negotiate the curve, and skidded through an intersection and went airborne, with his car rolling multiple times. His passenger was ejected out of the vehicle and was killed, leaving Mr. U in the vehicle (which then caught fire). He climbed out the back window as Officers were approaching, and was taken into custody. Later at the hospital, his blood work showed that he had a .225 BAC and had Marijuana in his system. He was then arrested after leaving the hospital, and charged with Second Degree Murder. Shortly thereafter, DM Cantor was retained to defend him.
Although we procured an Accident Reconstructionist and a Roadway Defect Expert, the facts regarding the driving were hard to overcome. In addition, when Independent Tests were run on Mr. U’s blood, it still put him far above the legal limit. We then secured the services of a Mitigation Expert, who interviewed all of Mr. U’s family and friends, and secured his medical and school records. We also had Mr. U enter Alcohol Counseling immediately after he Bonded out of Jail, and he had been sober since the night of the accident. Ultimately, we were able to secure an offer of 12 years in prison (at 85.7%), plus a 3 month early “kick-out,” which totaled approximately 10 years of actual DOC. Although he was facing 21 years of Prison initially, he will be out by the time he is 35 years of age.