A man and his girlfriend double-dated with another couple. They all went to a nightclub where they imbibed alcohol. The man got upset because he lost his stash of drugs. He went to the parking lot and searched the trunk of his car. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said when his girlfriend asked what he was doing, he lost his temper and they began arguing.
Soon after, witnesses around the parking lot heard gunshots. Thereafter, the man asked the other couple to bring his girlfriend home. He drove off from the parking lot. The police came just a few minutes after the man drove off and in the parking space his car occupied there were empty 9 millimeter shell casings.
The man drove on the wrong side of the road for about five miles and radar readings showed he was driving at 75 miles per hour. The vehicles on the road moved away from the man’s car to avoid colliding with him.
A police officer on patrol was on the same road and he was surprised to see a pair of headlights speeding his way. He immediately steered away from the defendant’s speeding car. A New York Sex Crimes Lawyer said when the defendant passed him, the police officer made a u-turn to chase the defendant’s car in order to apprehend him for speeding and for reckless driving on the wrong side of the road.
Before the police officer could catch up to the defendant, the man had plowed into a vehicle on the road. The driver of the car which the defendant smashed into died instantly. His car caught fire and was totally incinerated.
When emergency services came, they had to pry open the damaged car of the defendant. When he emerged from his car, he was worked up. A Nassau County Sex Crime Lawyer said his breath smelled strongly of alcohol. An hour later, his blood sample was taken and it showed that his blood alcohol content was 0.19%.
The police searched his car after the defendant was removed from there. They found 9-millimiter rounds in the trunk which were similar to the shell casings found in the parking lot. They also found a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, .395 grams of cocaine under a passenger seat, and 41 rounds of 9-millimeter bullets in a loaded magazine.
He was arrested and charged with second degree murder, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, aggravated driving while intoxicated, operating motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
He was convicted of second degree murder. The jury found that his driving against the flow of traffic and his having hit the victim’s car while speeding showed that at the time that he murdered the victim, he manifested a depraved indifference to human life.
The defendant claims that since his blood alcohol content was 0.19, he was so intoxicated he did not know what he was doing. He could not have formed any depraved indifference to human life.
The Court held that depraved indifference was clear when the defendant failed and refused to stop driving against the flow of traffic. A Queens Sex Crimes Lawyer said he failed and refused to stop speeding. He should have just stopped. He should have pulled over. For five miles he drove recklessly, putting everyone he met at grave risk of death. The people who were with the defendant at the bar they all testified that he did not look like he was intoxicated at all. This testimonial evidence showed that he had depraved indifference to life. His conviction for second degree murder was not against the weight of evidence.
The Court also found that the evidence was sufficient to convict him of the crime of criminal possession of a weapon. The conviction is not against the weight of the evidence.
A New York City Gun Crime Lawyer will tell you that having an unlicensed weapon in your control and possession will make you liable for criminal possession of a weapon. Whether you have been charged with a gun crime, sex crime or DWI, Stephen Bilkis and Associates can represent you. Go to any of the offices of Stephen Bilkis and Associates around the New York area.