Drunk motorist acquitted in death of 16 year old cyclist
From the story:
GALVESTON — A man whose blood-alcohol content measured nearly four times the legal limit was acquitted Monday of an intoxication manslaughter charge in the death of a 16-year-old bicyclist.
After finding Ronald Lloyd Kenney, 67, not guilty in the 2006 death of Daniel Gonzales III, the jury met with Galveston County Assistant District Attorney Ben Sullivant and defense attorney Kevin Rekoff in the jury deliberation room of the 122nd District Court, with visiting judge Frank Carmona presiding.
Although none of the jurors would agree to be named, the jury foreman said the “sloppiness” of the investigation by Galveston police was among the reasons they acquitted Kenney.
Kenney’s blood-alcohol percentage was measured at .31 percent, nearly four times the legal limit of .08 percent. The jury of eight women and five men disregarded the blood evidence, saying supporting paperwork didn’t detail whether Kenney first refused to give his blood.
Jurors tend to have a lot of sympathy for motorists and not much for bicyclists, but this one sticks out.
It seems the police work done here was really shoddy, which did not help matters. But still.
–Erik Ryberg
March 12th, 2009 at 7:21 am
If he was nearly four times the legal limit for blood alcohol level, wouldn’t that be enough to convict?
Is there any recourse for sloppy investigating? Could a state attorney general look at this?
March 12th, 2009 at 8:18 am
[...] two sad stories that highlight how dangerous it is out there for bikers: one about a drunk driver who was acquitted after killing a teenager on his bike, and one about a police officer who was struck from behind and [...]
March 12th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Citing “sloppiness” sounds like blame-shifting to me. OJ’s jury did the same thing. Imperfect investigations should not be reason enough to put criminals – killers in these cases – back on the street.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
On behalf of Texans I would like to apologize for the goings-on here in regards to cyclists, both on the part of the jury that acquitted the drunk driver and the drunk driver. This ain’t normal even in Texas, folks.