State v. Mr. W (DMC No. 17566) – Felony Vehicular Second Degree Murder (.199 BAC) with Car Travelling over 110 Miles Per Hour, Felony Vehicular Aggravated Assault, and Felony Endangerment – Reduced to Manslaughter (with 11 years actual DOC) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2020-001845)

Mr. W had been attending a wedding with his girlfriend when he consumed quite a bit of alcohol.  He ended up having an argument with his girlfriend, and he left with his male friend in his friend’s car.  As he was driving, he was travelling at approximately 113 miles per hour when he struck another vehicle in the rear and drove it into the guard rail.  The driver of that vehicle passed away, and the passenger of that vehicle, along with Mr. W’s passenger, were both seriously injured.

After being transported to the hospital, blood was drawn and it was determined he had a .199 BAC.  In addition, he had a prior DUI offense and a couple of previous alcohol-related arrests.  It was shortly thereafter that DM Cantor was retained to defend Mr. W.  Immediately after being retained, we had Mr. W enter into Alcohol Treatment and Counseling, and he has not had a drink of alcohol since.  In addition, he completed over 1,000 hours of Community Service while the case was proceeding.  Also, a Mitigation Expert was hired that reviewed all of Mr. W’s prior medical records and his school records, and interviewed all of his family and friends.  After this was all completed, DM Cantor engaged in a Settlement Conference with the Prosecutor in front of a neutral Judge.

The maximum in Prison time on all three charges totaled a potential 43 years.  At the Settlement Conference, we were able to negotiate a Plea to 13 years’ time, to be served at 85.7%.  This left Mr. W with approximately 11 years of DOC.  Mr. W will be approximately 40 years old when he is released from DOC, leaving him with decades of life in front of him.

State v. Mr. P (DMC No. 17652) – Felony First Degree Murder and Felony Kidnapping – Reduced to Second Degree Murder (with 25 Years DOC) – Maricopa County Superior Court (Case No. CR2021-138129)

Mr. P was 18 years old and had only ever had one girlfriend.  After he broke up with his girlfriend, she began dating another man approximately one month later.  During that relationship, she would contact Mr. P and claim that she was being abused by her new boyfriend.  Mr. P was even shown bruises by his ex-girlfriend.

Mr. P was being led to believe that his ex-girlfriend wanted to get back together with him, and that she needed his protection.  He showed up one night at her house in order to “win her back,” but when he got there he realized that she was inside her parents’ house with her new boyfriend.  He waited outside until the new boyfriend climbed out of the window and was walking towards his vehicle.  At that point, Mr. P Kidnapped the other man at gunpoint and had him drive his own vehicle.

When they were driving, a struggle ensued over the Victim’s cell phone, and the Victim was fatally shot in the truck.  At that point, Mr. P started having a “break from reality,” and drove the body out to the desert.  When the body was found it was completely unclothed, and rocks were piled on the face and the groin area “in order to prevent animals from getting to those areas.”  Clearly, Mr. P was struggling with his own actions.

After that occurred, Mr. P went home and eventually confessed that night to his brother and his father.  His father called the Police and Mr. P was cooperative and confessed to the crime, and then he took the Police to the body.  He was ultimately charged with First Degree Murder, and the State was seeking Natural Life in Prison.  This is when his family hired DM Cantor in order to defend the case.

After obtaining extensive medical records, DM Cantor then arranged to have Mr. P conduct a psychological examination.  While this was going on, we also had a Mitigation Expert interview all of Mr. P’s family and friends, and secure all of his medical and school records.  In addition, DM Cantor had a Neuropsychological Evaluation conducted on Mr. P.  Eventually, a Settlement Conference Memorandum was prepared, and with the help of several Judges, we were able to negotiate a Plea to 25 years in Prison, to be followed by 7 years of Probation.  Instead of serving Life in Prison, Mr. P will be released when he is 43 years old, and he will have many decades of life in front of him.

(2 COUNTS) FELONY VEHICULAR SECOND DEGREE MURDER and (1 COUNT) FELONY HIT & RUN REDUCED to 19 YEARS in PRISON – State v. Mr. N (DMC No. 6998) (Maricopa County Superior Court No. CR2005-011605): In this high profile vehicular homicide case, Mr. N had blown through a red light and rear ended another vehicle containing 2 passengers. One of the passengers was pregnant at the time. Their car then struck a bus stop and bursts into flames. Both passengers inside burned to death. Mr. N then got out of his car and fled the scene. When he was apprehended, he was found to have cocaine in his system along with alcohol. He also had prior felony convictions. He was ultimately charged with 2 Counts of Second Degree Murder and 1 Count of Felony Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Accident.

The family hired us to attempt to challenge the evidence and secure the lowest possible prison offer for Mr. N. His initial plea offer was to stipulate to 25 years in custody. We then negotiated an offer to a range of 16-32 years in prison, with the  exact prison sentence to be left up to the Judge. After putting together an extensive Mitigation Package that include interviewing all if Mr. N’s family members, along with a history of his upbringing and drug dependency, we convinced the Judge to give a sentence of 19 years. The Prosecutor wanted 25-32 years. Our involvement helped shave 6 years of prison off of the original plea offer.