October 4, 2011
A 23-year-old Virginia Beach, Virginia, driver who’s awaiting trial for the 2008 drunken driving death of his friend will remain free on bond despite acquiring a more recent charge of obstructing justice and using profane language over a public airway.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that the determination was made by Circuit Court judge Frederick B. Lowe despite prosecutors’ request that the offender’s bond be revoked in light of his new charges.
The man is accused of leaving a threatening phone message for a witness who’s subpoenaed to testify in his retrial. A prosecutor has said that the witness feels the man intended harm, but the man’s attorney argued that he made a mistake by leaving the message but never meant to hurt anyone. The judge ruled that he didn’t have sufficient evidence to revoke bond but said he’ll rehear the matter if prosecutors can cough up more evidence.
The man is currently charged with involuntary manslaughter and drunken driving in connection with the December 28, 2008, death of his 20-year-old male friend, a former high school volleyball star. He has since been out on bond for 33 months.
A May 2011 trial regarding the matter went awry after Lowe declared it a mistrial when jurors couldn’t agree on a sentence. The man’s new trial is scheduled for November 1.
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Do you think that this Virginia drunk driver should have had his bond revoked?
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