In September of 2015 my client, an elderly Mexican national with two prior DWI offenses on his criminal record was driving home, slightly intoxicated, after drinking beer with his friends.
When entering the freeway, a man stepped in front of his vehicle causing my client to swerve in order to avoid him.
Unfortunately, my client hit another vehicle that was propelled, striking the individual standing on the freeway, causing his death.
A Questionable Offense Report
To be quite honest with you, after reading the first paragraph of the offense report, I had a strong sense that this case was grossly overcharged. Although my client may have been driving while intoxicated and was technically guilty of a felony DWI, he had been charged with murder.
The DWI-to-Murder Enhancement Scheme
A few years ago, a slick Assistant District Attorney who used to work in Houston that I knew quite well after a couple of trials, moved to Montgomery County and became the figurehead of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving campaign to increase the criminal penalties involved with intoxicated assaults, intoxicated manslaughters, and simple DWI offenses. They came up with the idea that because a car could be considered a deadly weapon, and you are committing a felony while driving drunk, instead of being charged with Intoxicated Manslaughter (2-20 years in Texas Department of Corrections), that you could charge this person with murder instead, and get a much more severe penalty than 20 years.
In this case, I don’t know what got the prosecution’s ire, but they unfairly charged my client with murder. So we set the case for trial.
Without a second thought, the Houston Police Department arrested my client for causing the accident, and without hesitation, obtained a warrant for his blood to determine whether or not he had been drinking. Unfortunately for my client, his blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit, and since he had previously been convicted of three DWI offenses, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office charged him with Felony Murder.
Murder & Texas Law
Under Texas Penal Code Sec. 19.02(b)(3), a person commits “Murder” if he commits or attempts to commit a felony, other than manslaughter, and in the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission or attempt, he commits or attempts to commit an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual.
Here, because my client had previously been convicted of at least two prior DWI offenses, he was committing a felony by driving intoxicated in this incident, raising the punishment range from 2-20 years in prison to 5-99 years, or life.
Our Investigation Started Quickly
Due to quick action by my client’s family, we were retained on the case quickly and began our investigation. Unfortunately for my client, he was denied bond and classified as a “flight risk” due to owning property in Mexico. This meant that since he was unable to go to the scene of the accident with us, and show us step by step exactly what occurred, we were left to do the reconstruction ourselves.
After our first meeting with the Assistant District Attorney for vehicular crimes, an offer of 35 years in prison for a plea to murder was offered to my client. After a very brief discussion, my client made one thing very clear, he did not murder anyone. While he may have been intoxicated under the law, he had a clear memory of that night and was certain there was nothing to be done to avoid that accident due to the negligence of the other people on the scene.
The Accident In The Gore
Effective Witness Interviews & Investigations
After reviewing the police report and the witness statements, the incident started to become clearer. The alleged victim in this case was on the freeway helping a friend change a flat tire. The car with the flat tire was parked in the “gore,” better known as the triangle between the merging lane and the entrance lane on the freeway.
Directly across from the entrance lane, a large SUV was parked with another person in it. Before my client entered the freeway, a third car came to assist in the changing of the tire and parked directly behind the car already in the gore.
By the time my client came upon the scene, there were three vehicles parked in close proximity, with little lighting, not properly parked in the designated safety areas of the gore and the shoulder.
Each of the witness statements were different. No one could say for certain how fast my client was going, where everyone was standing when the accident occurred, or where the cars were originally parked. This confusion was an immediate indicator that the Houston Police Department may not have done a complete investigation.
The Extended Investigation
Over the next several months, my investigatory team, my associate, and I, all went to the scene of the accident and watched traffic patterns. We were able to observe how cars entered the freeway, at what speed they merged, and what visibility was like during the middle of the night. It was clear from our observations that this was a safety hazard, and that it was very likely nothing our client could have done to prevent this accident.
By the time the laboratory reports came back, we learned that the deceased victim had a blood alcohol level over twice the legal limit at the time of his death. This gave credibility to our theory that it was his negligence that caused this accident, not the neglect of our client.
After months of working with the prosecutor, examining the evidence, and consulting with our own expert witnesses, we were ready to set this case for trial and take it all the way. My client continued to hold steady saying that he was not guilty of murder and that there was nothing to be done to avoid the accident. We set the case for trial.
We were ready to go to trial
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office Balked
As the trial date got closer and closer, our investigation and evidence got stronger and stronger. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office was still not willing to dismiss the murder charge but came down to what they felt was a reasonable offer of 20 years.
Of course, my client rejected this, and we pressed on towards out trial date.
Murder Charge Dismissed
Finally, after almost two years of investigations, interviews, and trial preparation, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office realized the weaknesses in their case and chose to dismiss the murder charge entirely if my client would plead guilty to Driving While Intoxicated. On the day of trial, my client accepted the terms of the plea agreement, the murder charge was dismissed, and my client became eligible for parole.
UPDATE: As of 9/21/2018, it looks like our client has a great chance of making parole in 2018, a year and a half after being incarcerated, and being deported to Mexico, where he has a small ranch and other family members.
Unfairly charged with murder in Houston?
Call Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer Jack B. Carroll.
If you’re fighting an unfairly levied murder charged on behalf of yourself or a loved one, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office for help.
I’ve been a criminal defense attorney in Houston since 1990, I graduated at the top of my class, and I’m Board Certified® in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
I’ve successfully defended numerous individuals caught in the crosshairs of the Texas criminal justice system and I’m ready to help you.
(See my criminal case results.)
To contact me, call my office directly at 713-228-4607 or send a message to my office using the contact form. I’m Jack B. Carroll, an experienced criminal defense lawyer.