South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Jury deliberates about 30 minutes before returning guilty verdict in hit-and-run
Scott Roman showed no emotion when a Broward County jury returned a guilty verdict in a high-profile hit-and-run case involving the wealthy Realtor and the death of a 22-year-old on a motorized scooter in Oakland Park.
Roman, who was 47 years old at the time of the crash, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and tampering with evidence for the May 11, 2015, crash that led to the death of Joseph Deverson. The crash happened in the 3100 block of Powerline Road.
The jury found him guilty on Wednesday after deliberating for just 30 minutes.
Roman drove a white BMW 6 series at the time of the crash.
Roman has a status hearing April 29 with sentencing likely in May or June. His charges carry a maximum of 35 years and a mandatory minimum of four years.
Roman told different versions of what happened the night of the crash, which might have been a key to the verdict.
Prosecutors said Deverson was riding a motorized scooter when Roman hit him from behind and didn’t stop. They said an employee at Roman’s $880,000 condominium pointed investigators in Roman’s direction after Roman asked the employee to wash the BMW and have it repaired the night of the crash.
When investigators spoke to Roman the next morning he told a detective he was drinking at a Wilton Manors bar, got drunk, gave his car keys to a stranger and asked the stranger to drive him home. Roman further claimed he was passed out during the crash and doesn’t remember it happening.
However, investigators said surveillance video showed Roman leaving and arriving back at his condominium in his car alone. There was no damage to his car when he left and damage when he returned.
Detectives said Roman told the valet at his condominium, “I hit something, I panicked.”
Detectives said cell phone records showed Roman made a call minutes before the crash and received a call moments afterward, and he was in the vicinity of the crash during both calls.
The trial began March 14.