Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Judge weighs allowing bond for alleged drunken driver accused in deputy’s death
Darran Johnson, the man accused of killing Broward Sheriff ’s Deputy Benjamin Nimtz in a car wreck after running a red light while driving drunk in Deerfield Beach last summer, can’t resist the lure of alcohol and should remain in custody until trial, prosecutors argued before a judge Friday.
But there’s no proof he actually did take a drink while on house arrest awaiting trial, said Johnson’s lawyer.
Family members of Johnson, 33, and Nimtz, 30, were in court to watch the proceeding but did not testify. They did not comment afterward.
Broward Circuit Judge Andrew Siegel listened intently to expert witnesses who testified about Johnson’s alleged violation of his pretrial conditions.
The Boynton Beach resident, facing charges of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and reckless driving, was free on more than $100,000 bond on Jan. 31 when officials detected an obstruction on the monitor that was being used to detect whether he was staying away from alcohol.
The alleged violation landed Johnson back in a Broward jail earlier this month, and lawyers argued Friday over whether he should stay there. Siegel declined to rule, promising to put his opinion in writing after he weighs the evidence and arguments.
The device Johnson was required to wear collects information from skin and sweat to determine alcohol consumption. According to records presented
to the judge, the monitor read a spike in Johnson’s alcohol reading around 2 a.m. Jan. 31. Later that morning, an obstruction was detected, which prevents the device from being able to work properly.
Articles of clothing are the most common causes of obstructions, and the person being monitored is not informed when an obstruction is detected, said Beth Levinson, a probation officer and director of house arrest services for Broward and Palm Beach counties. Under questioning from defense lawyer Michael D. Weinstein, she said it was impossible to tell whether someone had been drinking, or how much, when an obstruction was present.
Weinstein argued that it was impossible for Johnson’s alcohol reading to spike and then return to zero in the limited time recorded by the monitoring device.
But prosecutor Ross Weiner said the entire episode shows that Johnson tampered with the device so that he could consume alcohol and avoid detection. “We can’t tell whether he consumed alcohol because he tampered with it!” Weiner said. “Only he knows what he did with that device.”
Nimtz was on his way to a domestic disturbance call early on July 21 when his vehicle collided with Johnson’s at Southwest 10th Street and Military Trail in Deerfiled Beach. Nimtz died at the scene.