New York Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

In an update to our June 20, 2009 blog entitled "Putnam County Manslaughter Charge In Brewster DWI Crash", Conses Garcia-Zacarias, the 35 year old illegal immigrant from Guatemala who pled guilty to two counts of New York vehicular homicide in the deaths of Lori Donahue and her 8 year old daughter Kayla, was sentenced to the maximum 8 1/2 to 25 years in state prison on January 13, 2010. Mr. Garcia-Zacarias had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of almost twice the legal limit of 0.08 when he drove his pickup truck on the wrong side of Main Street in Brewster and struck the mother and daughter as they were exiting the Seven Stars School of Performing Arts on Rt. 6. Reportedly, Mr. Garcia-Zacarias told a probation officer he was so intoxicated that he did not remember anything about the crash.

Mr. Garcia-Zacarias worked on numerous horse farms in the United States and was operating a Ford pickup truck owned by Valerie Renihan, a horse trainer who has claimed that Garcia-Zacarias did not have permission to operate the vehicle and stole the keys. However, neighbors near the Tonetta Lake Road house in Southeast where Garcia-Zacarias and several other men lived claimed that they would all frequently drive the vehicle. Clearly, if the Putnam County District Attorney's Office had solid proof against Renihan, she would have been charged in this tragic case as well.

In sentencing Mr. Garcia-Zacarias to the maximum jail time under New York's Penal Law, Judge James Rooney of the Putnam County Court stated to the defendant: " Do not look to me for forgiveness...God may grant you mercy, but this Court will not." After Garcia-Zacarias serves his prison term, he faces immediate removal (deportation) to his native Guatemala.

Continue reading " Maximum Jail Time In Putnam County Fatal DWI Case " »

The Washington Wizards' all-star guard Gilbert Arenas pled guilty on January 15, 2010 to one felony count of unlicensed gun possession in a Washington, D.C. Court. The plea arises out of an incident in early January when Arenas brought guns into the Wizards locker room in a confrontation with teammate Javaris Crittenton. Arenas will not be sentenced until March 26, 2010, and is apparently facing the possibility of 6 months of jail time. He has also been suspended indefinitely from the NBA by Commissioner David Stern. Additionally, the Wizards could attempt to void the $111 million contract Arenas signed last year based on a morals clause in the contract.

This incident calls to mind the case in New York of ex New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who is now serving a 2 year jail sentence after he pled guilty to unlicensed possession of a firearm last year. Had Burress not pled guilty, he was looking at the possibility of a mandatory sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted of the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.

It would appear that the Wizards and the NBA have a significant public relations problem when their star player, who led the league in scoring a few years ago, is facing felony jail time and appeared to be unrepentant when first charged with the crime, leading to Stern's decision to suspend him indefinitely

Continue reading " NBA Star Arenas Pleads Guilty To Felony Gun Possession " »