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Hernando Today
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DUI Manslaughter Dropped To Aggravated Battery
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Published: January 29, 2009
BROOKSVILLE - On Oct. 10, 2007, Darrell "Hank" Newberry was struck by a pickup truck as he took his trash out to the edge of his driveway.
He died in his neighbor's yard.
On Thursday, the driver responsible for 25-year-old Newberry's death accepted a six-year prison sentence for his actions that morning.
"He took his medicine, so to speak," said Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto.
James Morris, 22, of Weeki Wachee, was originally charged with DUI manslaughter because his blood tested positive for marijuana and prescription painkillers. It did not, however, quantify those amounts.
Even if there was a quantity, Florida law doesn't say what constitutes "under the influence" when it comes to drugs. That was set to be a central focus of the motions scheduled to be argued Thursday before Monday's trial.
Catto was counting on testimony from witnesses with Morris that night to prove the suspect was impaired.
Instead, Morris opted for the plea bargain that dropped his charge to aggravated battery. His sentence still carries most of the stipulations that come with DUIs, including a lifetime revocation of his driver's license.
Newberry's girlfriend at the time of his death, Sherri Collins, was in court on Thursday to witness Morris handcuffed and led away. She agreed to the plea bargain because she didn't want a repeat of what happened with her brother, Marc Collins.
Collins was riding passenger in a sport utility vehicle driven by Brian Gomes in 2005. Collins died when the SUV flipped over on Landover Boulevard, near Palomar Street, and Gomes was eventually charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
Gomes chose to go to trial and was acquitted of vehicular homicide by a jury. Because of a filing error, his fourth DUI was treated as a first DUI and he received an 11 month jail sentence. Catto was the prosecutor in that case, too.
Asked if Thursday's sentencing of Morris gave her any closure, a tearful Collins shook her head.
"There will never be any closure," she said. "His son still asks for his daddy."
Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.
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