Man accused of drunken fatal crash has poor driving record
TRENTON >> The alleged drunken driver who killed a college student and wounded several others in a head-on crash has a history of reckless driving in New Jersey.
West Windsor man David Lamar V patronized Landmark Tavern on the night of Dec. 1. He consumed several alcoholic drinks while watching the Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury championship fight on TV. The boxing match ended in a split draw, but Lamar did not recall the outcome of the heavyweight showdown after killing Michael Sot in the “horrific collision,” prosecutors said Tuesday.
Lamar’s blood-alcohol content level was three times above the legal limit, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Stacey Geurds said, adding Lamar has a history of speeding and reckless driving that show he is too dangerous to be released from jail.
“This is a young man who has used his car recklessly,” Geurds said of the 22-yearold defendant. “A car is a weapon.”
Pursuant to the Criminal Justice Reform Act, prosecutors filed a pretrial detention motion Dec. 5 seeking to keep Lamar incarcerated at the Mercer County Correction Center without bail pending final resolution of his vehicular homicide case. At a detention hearing held Tuesday, Lamar hobbled into the courtroom sporting an orange inmate jumpsuit and beige overcoat, appearing stoic.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Anthony Massi listened to arguments from the prosecution and defense Tuesday, saying he would review the testimony and make a decision on Wednesday as to whether Lamar would be detained or released from jail on certain pretrial conditions.
Lamar is accused of drinking several alcoholic beverages Dec. 1 at a Trenton-based bar and then getting behind the wheel of a Kia Optima and crashing head-on into a Dodge Charger about 2 a.m. Dec. 2 on the 1800 block of Pennington Road in Ewing Township.
The crash greatly impacted The College of New Jersey community. Sot, 20, a TCNJ math major from Clark, died Dec. 4 from his life-threatening injuries as the designated driver of the Charger. Several TCNJ students were riding as passengers in the Charger, and two of those victims as of Tuesday remained in extremely critical condition, according to Geurds.
Lamar suffered non-lifethreatening injuries in the crash, while a passenger in Lamar’s vehicle remained hospitalized Tuesday with a traumatic brain injury, authorities said.
Police filed criminal complaints Dec. 2 charging Lamar with seven counts of assault by auto. Authorities later filed second-degree vehicular homicide charges and arrested Lamar Dec. 4 after Sot died. An affidavit of probable cause says Lamar crossed over the double yellow lines on Pennington Road, causing the deadly head-on crash.
Lamar could serve five to 10 years in state prison if convicted of vehicular homicide, also known as death by auto. While the charges are serious, private defense attorney Robin Lord argued her client should be released from jail, saying she would accept electronic monitoring as a condition of pretrial release.
Newly arrested defendants may be jailed without bail under New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, but the state in second-degree cases such as Lamar’s must first prove with clear and convincing evidence that the defendant is a flight risk or too dangerous for pretrial release.
Lamar’s Public Safety Assessment score places him at the lowest risk of failing to appear in court and at relatively low risk of committing new criminal activity. But the prosecution calls Lamar a flight risk and danger to the community, saying he has a checkered driving history that includes a speeding ticket and reckless driving citations and saying he discharged himself from the hospital earlier this month against medical advice. But his driver’s license was valid at the time of the Dec. 2 crash, not suspended, according to Geurds.
Lord, a high-profile defense attorney, described the fatal crash as a “horrible accident” but said the state is crossing the line in trying to detain her client without bail. The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled earlier this year in State v. Jonathan Mercedes that serious charges alone do not justify pretrial detention in cases like Lamar’s, Lord said.
Lamar discharged himself from the hospital Dec. 3 against medical advice and authorities for a short time had no clue of his whereabouts, Geurds said. But Lamar did not flee from justice. “What he did was he went home,” Lord said of her client. “He went nowhere. He didn’t go to the airport. He didn’t take his passport.”
Lord later clarified that Lamar does not have a passport but said her client is a hard-working employee who graduated from high school and who lives in West Windsor with a family member.
Robert Clark, a licensed private investigator and bail bondsman, testified at Lamar’s detention hearing Tuesday, saying his bounty hunter company has the ability to monitor defendants 24/7 and impose random alcohol-breath testing with foolproof equipment.
If Judge Massi rejects the state’s pretrial detention motion, he could order Lamar to be released from jail on the condition of being monitored 24/7 with random alcohol testing by Clark’s private company. If Lamar is placed on electronically monitored house arrest under the watchful eye of Clark’s company, the company would be required to report any violations to the authorities.
Massi is expected to make a decision Wednesday on whether Lamar will be detained without bail or released on non-monetary conditions that could include electronic monitoring and prohibitions on alcohol consumption. His decision is expected to include an explanatory written opinion.
“I can’t detain based upon the charge alone,” Massi said from the bench Tuesday afternoon.
Geurds reiterated the state’s demand for detention, saying the alleged drunken driver has shown no remorse for causing the fatal crash. If Lamar is released, “We won’t be protected,” Geurds said. “Society won’t be protected from him.”
Lamar called his alleged drunken driving a “stupid mistake,” according to Geurds, who said the defendant told police that “people drink and drive all the time.”
Massi said he has a difficult task ahead and postponed making an immediate decision. “I want to get it right,” he said.
Lamar has been jailed at the Mercer County Correction Center since Dec. 5.