A Northampton County jury on Tuesday convicted John P. Heaney III of involuntary
manslaughter for a fiery wreck that killed two motorcyclists in Bangor — a mixed
verdict in which the retired cop was acquitted of the most serious charges
against him, homicide by vehicle.
The jury's split decision brought anger from the loved ones of the two men who died in the crash, but was welcomed by prosecutors because Heaney still faces the likelihood of state prison on the two manslaughter charges.
Jurors reached their verdict in the second day of deliberations, when Judge Paula Roscioli gave them the so-called dynamite charge, an instruction that urges juries at an impasse to renew efforts at unanimity.
The final result: Heaney was also found guilty of drunken driving and the reckless endangerment of the four other bikers injured in the wreck, but was acquitted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by vehicle — the only felonies he faced.
Assistant District Attorney William Blake said he was "extremely pleased" by the conviction, under which a minimum of a nine to 16 months in prison is recommended for Heaney for each of the involuntary manslaughter counts alone.
Heaney, 50, a former policeman in Plainfield, N.J., refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test after he hit the line of seven motorcyclists on July 1, 2011. Prosecutors said he had up to six drinks that day, including as many as four cocktails just before he got behind the wheel. Defense attorney Dennis Charles insisted his client wasn't drunk, but was the victim of a medical episode caused by the gastric bypass surgery he'd undergone three years earlier.
"It was an extremely difficult case," Blake said, "and we have complete faith in the jury in this case."
The panel announced the outcome in a courtroom packed with friends and family of Michael Zadoyko, 47, and Keith Michaelson, 52, the New Jersey bikers who were killed. The first charges read were those of homicide by vehicle, leading to an audible gasp from the audience as the foreman said, "Not guilty."
"I think it's horrible," said Jerry Hoogmoed, one of the motorcyclists who was injured, who noted jurors believed Heaney was drunk that day, but didn't convict him of homicide. "It blows my mind that there's that sliver of a difference. I don't think it's fair, the fact that he could get 16 months for killing two people."
Michaelson's brother, Kevin Michaelson, highlighted that Heaney had an alcohol level of 0.11 percent on a portable breath test after the crash, over the legal limit for driving but impermissible as evidence in Pennsylvania, and hence kept from the jury at trial.
"To a reasonable degree of human certainty, he's a liar and a coward," said Kevin Michaelson, who called the verdict "ridiculous."
"Alcohol played a 100-percent role in the death of Michael [Zadoyko] and my brother," he said.
The bikers were part of a New Jersey chapter of the Last Chance Motorcycle Club, a support group for riders overcoming drug and alcohol addictions, and were headed to the wake of a Pennsylvania member.
Last week, the survivors testified to a scene of "carnage" on Route 512, with motorcycles on fire and broken and burned men scattered across the road. They said that Heaney's fishtailing pickup had crossed completely into their lane, leaving no time to react before it smashed into them.
For the defense, two medical experts concluded that Heaney had a severe and sudden attack of hypoglycemia, his plummeting blood sugar incapacitating him and causing the wreck. Heaney took the stand in his own defense at trial, denying that he ever drinks to excess.
Heaney, of Lopatcong Township, N.J, last month rejected a plea agreement calling for him to serve three to six years in state prison. Under the seven charges he was convicted of, he could face a maximum of more than 18 years when Roscioli sentences him on Jan. 14.
Charles, his lawyer, declined to comment. Heaney, who has been free on bail, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after Roscioli doubled his bail to $100,000, with $10,000 needed to secure release.
"See ya," someone from the audience called out as Heaney was taken away. Heaney's wife, Elizabeth C. Heaney, posted bail for him Tuesday afternoon, allowing him to again be released.
On Monday, jurors had deliberated until after 10 p.m. before being sent home. By Tuesday morning, Roscioli had told the jury that if it could only reach unanimity of some of the charges, but not all of them, it was permitted to do so and should let her know.
Efforts by The Morning Call to interview jurors after the verdict were unsuccessful. But in an email, one panelist said it was a "very exhausting and an emotional trial for all of us.
"The decision we came to was extremely hard on us … . I wish the best for the Heaney family and the entire Last Chance Bikers Club, their families and the families of the victims," wrote Susan Remaley of Bethlehem Township. "We did all we could do to come to a fair decision given the testimony that we had."
Earlier, as word of a verdict got around the courthouse, Last Chance members and the family of Zadoyko and Michaelson had formed a circle outside the courtroom, locking arms over each other's shoulders.
They recited the "Serenity Prayer," which asks God to "grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
After the verdict, the same people crowded around prosecutors, asking Blake and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lupackino to explain what the split verdict meant.
"This was a difficult process for them," Blake said afterward. "Their frustration is just a natural result of what they've gone through lately."
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bangor-fiery-crash-motorcycle-deliberations-20121211,0,2130299.story
The jury's split decision brought anger from the loved ones of the two men who died in the crash, but was welcomed by prosecutors because Heaney still faces the likelihood of state prison on the two manslaughter charges.
Jurors reached their verdict in the second day of deliberations, when Judge Paula Roscioli gave them the so-called dynamite charge, an instruction that urges juries at an impasse to renew efforts at unanimity.
The final result: Heaney was also found guilty of drunken driving and the reckless endangerment of the four other bikers injured in the wreck, but was acquitted of vehicular homicide and aggravated assault by vehicle — the only felonies he faced.
Assistant District Attorney William Blake said he was "extremely pleased" by the conviction, under which a minimum of a nine to 16 months in prison is recommended for Heaney for each of the involuntary manslaughter counts alone.
Heaney, 50, a former policeman in Plainfield, N.J., refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test after he hit the line of seven motorcyclists on July 1, 2011. Prosecutors said he had up to six drinks that day, including as many as four cocktails just before he got behind the wheel. Defense attorney Dennis Charles insisted his client wasn't drunk, but was the victim of a medical episode caused by the gastric bypass surgery he'd undergone three years earlier.
"It was an extremely difficult case," Blake said, "and we have complete faith in the jury in this case."
The panel announced the outcome in a courtroom packed with friends and family of Michael Zadoyko, 47, and Keith Michaelson, 52, the New Jersey bikers who were killed. The first charges read were those of homicide by vehicle, leading to an audible gasp from the audience as the foreman said, "Not guilty."
"I think it's horrible," said Jerry Hoogmoed, one of the motorcyclists who was injured, who noted jurors believed Heaney was drunk that day, but didn't convict him of homicide. "It blows my mind that there's that sliver of a difference. I don't think it's fair, the fact that he could get 16 months for killing two people."
Michaelson's brother, Kevin Michaelson, highlighted that Heaney had an alcohol level of 0.11 percent on a portable breath test after the crash, over the legal limit for driving but impermissible as evidence in Pennsylvania, and hence kept from the jury at trial.
"To a reasonable degree of human certainty, he's a liar and a coward," said Kevin Michaelson, who called the verdict "ridiculous."
"Alcohol played a 100-percent role in the death of Michael [Zadoyko] and my brother," he said.
The bikers were part of a New Jersey chapter of the Last Chance Motorcycle Club, a support group for riders overcoming drug and alcohol addictions, and were headed to the wake of a Pennsylvania member.
Last week, the survivors testified to a scene of "carnage" on Route 512, with motorcycles on fire and broken and burned men scattered across the road. They said that Heaney's fishtailing pickup had crossed completely into their lane, leaving no time to react before it smashed into them.
For the defense, two medical experts concluded that Heaney had a severe and sudden attack of hypoglycemia, his plummeting blood sugar incapacitating him and causing the wreck. Heaney took the stand in his own defense at trial, denying that he ever drinks to excess.
Heaney, of Lopatcong Township, N.J, last month rejected a plea agreement calling for him to serve three to six years in state prison. Under the seven charges he was convicted of, he could face a maximum of more than 18 years when Roscioli sentences him on Jan. 14.
Charles, his lawyer, declined to comment. Heaney, who has been free on bail, was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs after Roscioli doubled his bail to $100,000, with $10,000 needed to secure release.
"See ya," someone from the audience called out as Heaney was taken away. Heaney's wife, Elizabeth C. Heaney, posted bail for him Tuesday afternoon, allowing him to again be released.
On Monday, jurors had deliberated until after 10 p.m. before being sent home. By Tuesday morning, Roscioli had told the jury that if it could only reach unanimity of some of the charges, but not all of them, it was permitted to do so and should let her know.
Efforts by The Morning Call to interview jurors after the verdict were unsuccessful. But in an email, one panelist said it was a "very exhausting and an emotional trial for all of us.
"The decision we came to was extremely hard on us … . I wish the best for the Heaney family and the entire Last Chance Bikers Club, their families and the families of the victims," wrote Susan Remaley of Bethlehem Township. "We did all we could do to come to a fair decision given the testimony that we had."
Earlier, as word of a verdict got around the courthouse, Last Chance members and the family of Zadoyko and Michaelson had formed a circle outside the courtroom, locking arms over each other's shoulders.
They recited the "Serenity Prayer," which asks God to "grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference."
After the verdict, the same people crowded around prosecutors, asking Blake and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Lupackino to explain what the split verdict meant.
"This was a difficult process for them," Blake said afterward. "Their frustration is just a natural result of what they've gone through lately."
http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bangor-fiery-crash-motorcycle-deliberations-20121211,0,2130299.story