Man gets 10-year sentence for drug-related homicide

On behalf of Terence Gross of Gross & Schuster, P.A. posted in Wrongful Death on Thursday, March 8, 2012.

Drivers who know there is a pedestrian very close to their vehicle have a duty to watch out for that person’s safety. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case, as a bizarre incident involving a drug transaction shows.

A 21-year-old man from Cantonment pleaded guilty recently to manslaughter charges over the May 2010 death of a 23-year-old man from Pensacola. Prosecutors had asserted that thewrongful death was a drug-related traffic homicide. The conviction resulted in a sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to the Pensacola News Journal, the incident occurred on Chemstrand Road close to Twin Bay Drive. Officers from the Florida Highway Patrol reportedly obtained a statement from a witness about the death, which stated that the defendant had driven up to where the other man was standing and received a bag of marijuana from him through the window before attempting to drive away.

When the other man tried to reach into the truck, apparently in an attempt to take the drugs back, the driver kept his vehicle moving with the man holding onto the truck on the door on the driver’s side. He subsequently fell off and then was apparently run over by two or more other vehicles.

According to the News Journal, the truck driver then allegedly continued on his way, leaving the accident victim behind, heading north on Chemstrand Road, according to a statement a passenger in the truck made in a sworn affidavit obtained by investigators.

Source: Pensacola News Journal, “Cantonment man gets 10 years for manslaughter,” Thyrie Bland, Feb. 28, 2012