PCSO: 1 killed in fiery crash; driver tried to bribe Pinal deputies

 

Pinal County investigators said a 21-year-old man was driving this car when it wrecked and killed a 27-year-old woman who was trapped inside. (Photo: Pinal County Sheriff's Office)
Pinal County investigators said a 21-year-old man was driving this car when it wrecked and killed a 27-year-old woman who was trapped inside. (Photo: Pinal County Sheriff’s Office)

That looks like it used to be a very fast car…. Pinal County investigators think alcohol might have been involved (incident Sunday? 3/1/2015 11:26p):

 

 

 

 

Investigators said Joseph Wilson, 21, was speeding westbound on Sun Dance Drive at 11:25 p.m., Sunday when he lost control of his car, drove into the desert, ran over a fence and rolled over, officials said.
A woman was trapped inside the vehicle when it came to rest and caught on fire near Sun Dance Drive and Wardance Circle, investigators said.
Wilson’s 27-year-old passenger was found dead when the fire fighters extinguished the flames, according to deputies…
Wilson first identified himself to officers as Joseph Thompson but later admitted his name was Joseph Wilson… Wilson then pulled out a “wad of cash” and attempted to hand it to the deputy and said, “It doesn’t have to be like this,” according to deputies… A witness at the scene reported that Wilson had been drinking at a San Tan bar and was giving the woman a ride home, officials said. –azcentral.com

This was no accident, and the news report doesn’t utter the a-word even once; ongoing congratulations to the Arizona Republic, reporter Allison Gargaro, and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office for eschewing the a-word.

trivalleycentral.com mentions “Wilson told the deputy he uses ‘102 Octane Racing Fuel’ in his 1965 Ford Roadster”

Sheriff Paul Babeu issued a strong statement, “While Joseph Wilson may have thought his car was the most important thing in his life, he will soon realize his decision to get behind the wheel of his vehicle while impaired by alcohol and causing a crash, which claimed the life of his passenger will be the worst decision he could have made. Earlier today, Wilson was booked into the Maricopa County Jail for Manslaughter, Bribery and False Reporting to a Law Enforcement Agency. Alcohol impaired crashes are completely avoidable. If you’re going to drink have a designated driver.”

Crash Report

FARS case 40185

Driver .120 BAC

Criminal Case

This being a small-town case that went to trial, there is a significant amount of detail reported by pinalcentral.com, giving us outside the justice system a good look at its inner-workings. My only complaint with the reporting is, please Kevin Reagan, #CrashNotAccident !

The defendant was charged with 2nd Degree murder, and was offered a plea deal to manslaughter — which was rejected, necessitating a trial in which the jury found him guilty of the lesser included charge of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 10.5 years in prison, which is the presumptive for a class 2 felony he was found guilty of.

It is hard to understand the defendant’s decision to reject the plea offer, it seems like he paid for (?) a very expensive trial, with very very little chance of getting a dismissal, and the resulting sentence is very likely exactly what he would have gotten out of the plea. And there’s a potential downside, if found guilty of 2nd degree the defendant would face a longer sentence.

There were no details in the reporting on prosecution’s case regarding alcohol/BAC results, which were listed in FARS as .12, which of course is above the legal limit of .08 ; in the defense’s case the tatoo part is pretty funny: “(he)… testified in court that he didn’t remember drinking a shot and he generally doesn’t drink often. (the prosecutor) attempted to dispute this assertion during cross examination, getting (the defendant) to admit he has the Coors Light mountain logo tattooed on his body”.

The victim was also drunk (.16 in FARS), it wasn’t clear if that allowed to be presented at trial but of course comes out/up in comments in the context of victim-blaming.

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