Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

Every once in awhile, the local media publishes a story that is so "right-on-point," that I'd rather cut-and-paste the entire story and quote to it (rather than provide commentary about it). In this case, I caught an early glimpse this evening of an article in tomorrow's St. Pete Times, written by Sue Carlton.

The following has been cut and pasted from the online version of tomorrow's SPT article:

Consider two criminal cases, alike and not so much, at least when it comes to doling out the law in equal measure.

In 2004 it was Jennifer Porter, a Hillsborough teacher who hit four children crossing a dark street and drove away. Two were killed, and two were seriously hurt. For the crime of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Death, Porter faced up to 15 years in prison.

Today, a 21-year-old Tampa woman named Amanda Bentz faces the charge of Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death. Investigators say one night in March, she hit a man who had a blood alcohol level of 0.35 and drove away. Like Porter before her, she would likely not have been charged had she only stayed.

But Bentz faces twice the sentence Porter did -- up to 30 years in prison. She would face half that had she been charged with DUI Manslaughter, and how does that make sense?

One more difference between the two cases, and it's a biggie: Amanda Bentz went back to the scene of the crash.

In the infamous Porter case, it's hard to forget the ugly details of her father washing the blood from her car and Porter returning to work the next day.

Bentz drove away, too. She made calls on her cell phone. And about an hour after the crash, she came back with her father and, investigators said, cooperated fully.

But by law, coming back later doesn't matter. If someone is injured or dying or even dead, you stop, you help, you answer questions for police. Of course you do these things.

But shouldn't the fact that Bentz returned be taken into consideration? Shouldn't coming back in a reasonable period of time -- "reasonable" being one of those law words for judges and juries to puzzle over -- mean a lesser but still serious charge?

Might it even encourage those who panic -- like Porter, like Bentz -- to finally do the right thing?

Now, about why Bentz faces twice the time. In recent years, lawmakers bumped Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Death from a second, to a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years -- 15 more than DUI Manslaughter. Sometimes when lawmakers "fix" what they see as a weakness -- or if you are cynical, when they beat their chests -- quirks can happen.

So what about Amanda Bentz? As a practical matter, like Porter before her -- and like Jordan Valdez, a Tampa high schooler who drove off after fatally hitting a homeless woman -- she will not likely see jail. She was not drinking. She is not accused of causing the accident. She came back.

We elect our prosecutors and judges to handle the nuances of such complex cases, to take into account what she did and did not do, to consider that the mother of Billy Ivy, the man who died that night, said she wants Bentz to understand what she did but does not want prison.

An issue may be whether Bentz spends her life with a formal finding of guilt on her record, "adjudication," as it's called. Valdez, sentenced in the Juvenile system, was not adjudicated guilty.

But here is another of those quirks: Because the crime is a First-Degree Felony, Bentz may not be able to avoid that record.

There is a lessen in these cases: You stop and you try to help, because it's the right thing and also the law.

But that law should be the same for everyone, and that law should note for the record: Amanda Bentz came back.

By Sue Carlton

Jeremy Trueblood, the starting right tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was released from an Indiana jail Wednesday after prosecutors decided not to file a Public Intoxication charge stemming from an arrest Tuesday night, authorities said.

Trueblood, 27, was released from Hancock County Jail early Wednesday morning.

According to authorities, just before 7:00 p.m. Tuesday evening police were dispatched to the Gas America store at 815 E. Main Street in Greenfield for a possible intoxicated driver. A caller told police that the vehicle had just left the store and was eastbound on Main Street. The caller reported that male subjects in the store could barely stand up because they were intoxicated.

En route to the store police observed a vehicle matching the description of the possible intoxicated driver. The officer followed the vehicle and observed that the driver and the passenger failed to have their seatbelts on and then initiated a traffic stop.

While the officer was speaking to the driver, back seat passenger Benjamin McKenny identified himself as a Hamilton County Corrections Officer and said "everything is alright." The officer smelled an odor of alcohol and asked for identification from all of the passengers.

The officer continued to ask for identification when the passengers, including Trueblood, became uncooperative, belligerent and verbally abusive to the officers. Trueblood, 27, and McKenny, 26, failed to cooperate and comply with the officers.

McKenny and Trueblood were both arrested for Public Intoxication and the driver, Wanda Trueblood, was cited for not having a seatbelt on.

Trueblood played ball at Cathedral High School, graduating in 2000. He helped lead his team to back-to-back state championships. Trueblood continued his football career at Boston College before being drafted to the Buccaneers in 2006.

"There will be no further action as far as the prosecution for the county is concerned," said Hunt. "They did the right thing not driving."

Trueblood, who joined the Bucs in 2006, signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract in May. His hometown is listed as Indianapolis, Indiana

Trueblood was featured in a 2008 interview with St. Petersburg Times and tampabay.com sports reporter Stephen Holder.