After pleading guilty to misdemeanor DUI-related charges, that involved driving over a person and killing him in an attempt to escape a beating, a man has been charged with a second DUI, as reported by the Florida-Times Union.
B.P., 32, was sentenced to six-months in prison and will serve a year of probation for killing T.E., 22, this past August. Both men, as well as other bar patrons that witnessed the accident, were presumably drunk according to Judge Russell Healey.
During B.P.'s sentencing Healey said, "As most mothers say, there's not really much good that's going on after midnight when alcohol is involved, and that was clearly the case on this particular evening."
Though B.P.'s blood alcohol was above the state's legal limit for driving, according to Assistant State Attorney Lee Smith, another man was charged with T.E.'s murder.
On August 10 B.P. left the Mavericks nightclub and entered the parking lot of the Jacksonville Landing – and allegedly was beaten while inside his truck. During the fight, T.E. had been seated on the front hood of B.P.'s truck.
In his haste to end the beating, and escape the parking lot, B.P. put his truck in reverse – causing T.E. to topple off of the hood and onto the pavement. Then, instead of noticing T.E. on the ground in front of his car, B.P. put his car in drive, drove over T.E. and then sped off.
B.P. was stopped by police as soon as he reached downtown.
According to Smith, the alleged reason for the beating was in retaliation for B.P. hitting a woman in the club. Smith also said that everyone at the scene had consumed alcohol. Judge Healey added, "Many of them had seemingly way too much to drink. And I find it somewhat frightening that many of them were seemingly going to go get behind the wheel of a car."
G.J., 26, was the man that allegedly beat B.P. G.J. faces murder charges and DUI – his blood alcohol percentage registered as 0.127. He has since been released, having made his $15,000 bail.
A little over three months had passed before B.P. got into more trouble with the law. He was seen driving erratically by a Baker County deputy early in the morning of November 25. After pulling B.P. over the deputy noted that B.P. smelled of alcohol – and the deputy found a open beer bottle as well as an empty can of beer. Though B.P. refused to submit to an alcohol breath test, he failed a field sobriety test and was charged with DUI.
The second arrest succinctly revoked his bail from the first and he was taken back into the Duval County jail.
According to Smith, after the conviction B.P.'s maximum jail term will increase to nine months.
The maximum amount of prison time for DUI-manslaughter is 15 years.
W.E., T.E.'s father, told B.P. that he held a "significant role" in the death of his son. W.E. said that if wasn't for B.P.'s actions his 6-year-old granddaughter wouldn't be deprived of her father this Christmas.
If you are facing one or more charges stemming from DUI, DWI, OUI or OWI do the smart thing – contact a DUI attorney that is experienced in handling these types of case so that you can avoid lengthy jail time, high fines or the loss of your driving privileges.