Originally posted by: akshatp
thanks for the update... i hope they throw the book at him... I know the lawyer is just doing his job, but jeez, how the hell does he sleep at night?
Originally posted by: hdeck
wow, somehow i completely missed this thread. how sad
Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
Originally posted by: akshatp
thanks for the update... i hope they throw the book at him... I know the lawyer is just doing his job, but jeez, how the hell does he sleep at night?
knowing that even defendants deserve competent legal counsel?
Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
Originally posted by: akshatp
thanks for the update... i hope they throw the book at him... I know the lawyer is just doing his job, but jeez, how the hell does he sleep at night?
knowing that even defendants deserve competent legal counsel?
yeah, thats the same garbage I get from defense attorneys all day long. I mean, they got a point...but I couldnt defend a cold hard killer. Prosecuting them, however, is easy.
BTW, i have done and seen quite a few prelims but I have never seen one with 12 freakin witnesses...
Originally posted by: vshah
just out of curiosity, does anyone have an idea what sort of sentence these charges might warrant, assuming he is convicted on all of them?
Originally posted by: dotcom173
one of my old best friends died this morning at age 18. we were best friends from 2nd grade until around 7th, then we just started hanging out less and less.
the only difference is that he died from a drug overdose, which isnt what i would have expected him to die of. he was about to be a pro surfer, or maybe he already was a pro, not sure. sucks really bad, i feel for acemcmac and his family. not a fun thing to go through. my friends name is mike chandler if anyones ever heard of him, even though i doubt it.
Originally posted by: kevinthenerd
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: IHAVEAQUESTION
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: The Raven
<blockquote>quote:
Originally posted by: Mill
WTF is anyone else seeing a damn Miller Lite ad when viewing one of the posted articles?
http://www.dailylocal.com/site...61&dept_id=17782&rfi=6</blockquote>
Amen. Worst product placement, ever.
RIP Ace.</blockquote>
For that, I will never drink another miller lite in my life :|
Not that I was a big fan of it before anyway.
</blockquote>
It used to be my beer of choice. I'm going to boycott it now.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/168604.htmlPosted on Thu, Aug. 02, 2007
Prosecutor asks judge to toss bail in DUI crash
By Pete Bosak - pbosak@centredaily.com
BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County District Attorney's Office is asking a county judge to revoke the bail of a Bellefonte native awaiting trial on charges he mowed down two pedestrians while driving drunk, killing one and permanently disabling the second.
Jury selection is scheduled for Monday and trial is set for September for Anthony "Tony" Torsell, who was 20 at the time of the fatal Oct. 28 crash. He is free on $75,000 bail in the meantime.
But Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to jail Torsell while he awaits trial because he was accused of -- and pleaded guilty to -- giving a false report to a game officer and fishing without a license in May.
Torsell is accused of driving with a .242 percent blood alcohol content when he hit Richard A. Smith, 21, of Conshohocken, originally of Chadds Ford, and Penn State student Aaron C. Stidd at the intersection of West Beaver Avenue and South Atherton Street in State College at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 28.
Smith died a short time after he was hit and Stidd requires constant medical care.
"While Mr. Torsell is out on bail violating the law while awaiting trial and continuing to use false identities, the Smith and Stidd families are trying to put the pieces of their shattered lives together," Sloane wrote.
But Torsell's attorney, Joseph Amendola, said Sloane is mistaken and that his client did not falsely identify himself to anyone.
Torsell was going fishing with some friends and mistakenly believed a friend had obtained a fishing license for him, Amendola said. When stopped by a game officer, Torsell incorrectly stated that he had a fishing license, but that he did not have it with him, Amendola said.
He never provided false identification to anyone and the citations resulted from a miscommunication with friends, he said.
"I would be very surprised if a judge would revoke Tony's bail for this kind of game code violation," Amendola said.
Among the charges stemming from the fatal crash are homicide by motor vehicle while DUI and carrying a false ID card.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/170536.htmlPosted on Sat, Aug. 04, 2007
Attorney: Impartial jury tough
Media reports cited as tainting potential pool
By Pete Bosak - pbosak@centredaily.com
BELLEFONTE -- The attorney for a Bellefonte native accused of striking two pedestrians with his car while driving drunk last year, killing one and critically injuring a second, renewed his efforts Friday to have the case heard of outside Centre County because of widespread publicity in the local media.
Attorney Joe Amendola fears he cannot find an impartial jury to decide the fate of his client, Anthony "Tony" Torsell, 21, and therefore filed a motion to have the case tried elsewhere or to select a jury from outside Centre County.
Amendola is scheduled to pick a jury on Monday for trial Sept. 10, 11 and 12, if needed, before Judge Thomas King Kistler. Also Monday, the judge is to hear arguments from Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane, who wants Torsell's bail revoked because of citations he received while fishing illegally.
It was Sloane's motion to revoke Torsell's bail for fishing without a license and lying to a Fish and Boat Commission officer about whether he had a license that prompted Amendola's second attempt for a change of venue or an out-of-county jury.
Torsell is accused of driving with a .242 percent blood alcohol content when police said he hit Richard A. Smith, 21, of Conshohocken, originally of Chadds Ford, and Penn State student Aaron C. Stidd at the intersection of West Beaver Avenue and South Atherton Street in State College at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 28. Smith died a short time after he was hit, and Stidd requires constant medical care.
But media reports about the case, "particularly relating to the long and difficult recovery of Aaron Stidd, (have) been so extensive and pervasive that the community has been saturated by it thus making a fair and impartial jury trial in Centre County an impossibility," Amendola wrote in his motion.
Of particular concern, Amendola wrote, was a report in Thursday's edition of the Centre Daily Times about Sloane's efforts to revoke Torsell's $75,000 bail and have him jailed while awaiting trial. Torsell pleaded guilty in May to two citations for violating fishing regulations, according to court documents. These news reports further assured that an impartial jury from Centre County cannot be seated, Amendola wrote.
"While Mr. Torsell is out on bail violating the law while awaiting trial and continuing to use false identities, the Smith and Stidd families are trying to put the pieces of their shattered lives together," Sloane wrote in his motion to have Torsell jailed.
Sloane said a judge will decide at jury selection Monday if the jury is tainted to the point the case should be moved out of the county.
"If the judge thinks it's saturated to the point that no one can be fair ... I think we're good to pick a jury Monday," Sloane said.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/172667.htmlCourt stays within county to choose jury in fatal crash
Posted on Tue, Aug. 07, 2007
BELLEFONTE -- The commonwealth and the defense attorney for a Bellefonte native accused of striking two pedestrians while driving drunk last year, killing one and critically injuring a second, selected a jury on Monday without looking outside of Centre County.
Also Monday, a judge ruled that defendant Anthony "Tony" Torsell, 20, can remain free on $75,000 bail to await trial Sept. 24, 25 and 26 despite the efforts of Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane to have his bail revoked for two Fish and Boat Commission citations he received in May.
Centre County Judge Thomas King Kistler ruled that the behavior of Torsell, who pleaded guilty to fishing without a license and falsely telling a Fish and Boat Commission officer he was licensed, did not warrant his bail being revoked.
The primary issue before the court Monday, however, was finding a jury to hear the case against Torsell, charged with homicide by motor vehicle while driving drunk and related offenses.
Torsell's defense attorney, Joe Amendola, argued to the court Monday that pretrial publicity on his client's case has been strong and, with Sloane's motion last week to revoke his client's bail, he did not believe a fair and impartial jury could be found in Centre County.
"The timing could not have been worse," Amendola said, citing newspaper and television news reports about his client's run-in with the law while fishing illegally.
Torsell is accused of driving with a .242 percent blood alcohol content when police said he hit Richard A. Smith, 21, of Conshohocken, originally of Chadds Ford, and Penn State student Aaron C. Stidd at the intersection of West Beaver Avenue and South Atherton Street in State College at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 28. Smith died a short time after he was hit, and Stidd requires constant medical care.
"As this court knows, this case has gotten a lot of publicity," Amendola said. "The fairer thing to do is obtain an out-of-county jury."
But Kistler held off ruling on Amendola's request, instead opting to attempt to find a panel that could impartially decide Torsell's fate. In about 30 minutes, a Centre County jury was seated after a series of questions by Sloane and Amendola as to whether prospective jurors could fairly weigh the evidence.
Amendola told potential jurors that they would hear how the victims in the case were illegally crossing the busy intersection against the light and wearing dark clothing on a rainy night. Amendola said the defense contends that Torsell driving intoxicated did not contribute to the crash and that, considering the conditions, it would have occurred whether his client was drunk or not.
The prosecution disputes that, alleging that Torsell was intoxicated, driving at a high rate of speed and eating McDonald's cheeseburgers when he hit Smith and Stidd.
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/173870.htmlPosted on Wed, Aug. 08, 2007
Furnishing charges dropped in Torsell case
Judge finds a lack of evidence that Huntingdon man provided alcohol
By Pete Bosak - pbosak@centredaily.com
BELLEFONTE -- Criminal charges have been dismissed by a Centre County judge against a man police accused of furnishing alcohol to minors in October -- including the Bellefonte native awaiting trial on charges he was driving drunk when he killed a man and critically injured another.
Charges of furnishing alcohol to minors were dismissed against Gregory J. Daughenbaugh II, 21, of Huntingdon, because the commonwealth did not have evidence the man knowingly supplied alcohol to minors, according to the opinion and order written by Centre County Judge Bradley P. Lunsford and filed Monday.
"We are very pleased with this, because my client had no intention to furnish alcohol," said Kelley Gillette-Walker, Daughenbaugh's attorney. "So it was the right decision."
One of three minors who allegedly consumed alcohol belonging to Daughenbaugh is Anthony "Tony" Torsell, 21, who is set to stand trial Sept. 24, 25 and 26 on charges including homicide by motor vehicle while driving drunk. Police said Torsell, who was 20 at the time, drank alcohol left at his State College apartment by Daughenbaugh prior to a fatal DUI crash Oct. 28.
"While he did leave alcohol at the minor's apartment, he specifically instructed them not to drink it, and he took extra precautions by placing the liquor behind frozen foods in the freezer and placing beer by the recycling bin where it would appear to be empty," Lunsford wrote in his opinion and order. "Given the lack of evidence that defendant actually knew the minors were going to consume the alcohol, the (c)ommonwealth has not met its burden to establish a prima facie case."
Centre County Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall respectfully disagreed with the judge's ruling but said his office likely will not appeal.
"We are disappointed in the judge's decision and we disagree with the judge's conclusion that the defendant did not know he was furnishing alcohol to minors," Marshall said. "We do not believe the defendant's attempts to hide the alcohol from his friends were genuine. We think this case should have gone to a jury to decide."
Torsell is accused of driving with a .242 percent blood alcohol content when police said he hit Richard A. Smith, 21, of Conshohocken, originally of Chadds Ford, and Penn State student Aaron C. Stidd at the intersection of West Beaver Avenue and South Atherton Street in State College at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 28. Smith died a short time after he was hit, and Stidd requires constant medical care.
Torsell also had been drinking at a party in State College prior to the crash, police said. Several adults accused of furnishing alcohol to minors at that party already have gone through the criminal justice system as a result of a strong investigation by State College police, Marshall said.
http://www.statecollege.com/ne...cle.php?cat=4&id=15144Juries Selected for Homicide Cases
08/07/2007 7:48 am
Juries for two high-profile homicide cases were selected at the Centre County Courthouse Monday.
A jury of eight women and four men will decide the case of Josephy Ventura. Ventura faces first- and third-degree murder charges in the nightclub stabbing death of a man in February 2006. The trial is currently scheduled to begin on September 10th.
In spite of defense requests for a change of venue or an out-of-county jury, a jury of Centre County residents was selected to hear the case against Anthony Torsell. Torsell has been accused of killing one pedestrian and seriously injuring a second while driving under the influence last November. Torsell's trial is scheduled to begin September 24th.
VWvortex ForumsThe Car LoungeDrunk drivers suck ass...
Chickpea2
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Re: (bugasm99) » « » 12:18 PM 6-18-2007
Thank you so much for what you said. The Drunk Driver does have to think about the poor decision he made and the consequences every day of his life (and trust me he does) The two victims however, were also drunk and did not have the right-away to walk. Granted the drunk driver should never have been behind the wheel it was very stupid on his part (but like I said he regrets it to the fullest), however the pedestrians didn't make the smartest choices either. Everyone saying that the drunk driver should fry needs to realize that making another person suffer doesn't make anything better.
No problem.Originally posted by: RossMAN
mosh,
Thank you for keeping this alive
I wish I would have saved his Facebook page. It vanished a few days after the accident. There are a few things I do happen to have saved:Originally posted by: OS
i don't know if this matters, but does the prosecutor know about his personal pages back when it said sh*t like "my BAC higher than my GPA"?