Courts Tough On Drunk Boaters

Increasingly around the country juries are not buying defendants arguments that boating accidents while under the influence of alcohol should somehow be excused because a boat was involved. In two cases reported here juries deliberated just a couple of hours before turning thumbs down. And then in both cases judges sentenced the convicted boat drivers to long prison vacations. Happy cruising fellas. There have been enough boating tragedies involving drunk boaters – they happen every week in the summertime -- that all boats need to have a designated driver when returning from a party. Pass the word on.

Two convicted boaters will be vacationing on K Block for a total of 35 years.

15 Years for DUI Manslaughter

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, FEB 12—

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- After deliberating for three hours, a jury on Thursday evening decided Jeremy Rettman was responsible for the death of a 21-year-old friend who was killed in a boating accident two years ago.

A judge immediately sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Rettman, of Oldsmar, was on trial this week on a charge of boating under the influence-manslaughter. Prosecutors said he had a blood alcohol level more than twice the level at which the state presumes impairment when his 16-foot Hydrosport crashed into a boat at anchor on Lake Tarpon on April 5, 2008.

One of Rettman's roommates, Patricia Blankenship, was mauled by the boat's propeller, which slashed her chest and nearly severed her arm. Blankenship, a 2004 graduate of Pasco's Mitchell High School, died 10 days after the accident.

The verdict and sentence brought little solace to Blakenship's mother, Penny Barnett of Holiday.

"There's no one who wins here," said Barnett, 43. "This is not closure, by a long shot. There is no closure."

According to prosecutors, Rettman was operating the boat's throttle as his daughter, who was 10 years old at the time, steered the boat that evening.

But Rettman's defense attorney, Richard Zaleski, said there was no evidence that Rettman was the person in control of the vessel at the time of the accident. Zaleski said the boat belonged to Blankenship's fiance, Justin Shields, who was also on the Hydrosport at the time of the accident.

Rettman's daughter, who is now 12, testified this week that both her father and Shields were next to her while she was steering and that it was Shields who had set the throttle.

"It's devastating for someone who wasn't the owner or operator of the boat to go down as the captain of the ship," Zaleski said.

Rettman, 33, had a history of arrests for driving-related offenses such as DUI, driving with a suspended or revoked license, and reckless driving.

Barnett, Blakenship's mother, said her heart "bleeds" for Rettman's daughter, Amanda.

"I bless his family and my heart just goes out to his family," she said. "My main concern is for Amanda. I've never blamed her, not once. I hope she can get on with her life."

Barnett said she still has days where she cannot believe her daughter is gone forever.

"As far as Patricia, she was sentenced to death," Barnett said. "Me and her family were sentenced to life."

--BY RITA FARLOW

20 Years for DUI Assault in Wyoming

Casper Star-Tribune, Feb 12--

CASPER — A jury on Thursday found a Casper man guilty of two counts of aggravated assault for his role in a boat accident last spring that left four people seriously injured.

Seth Linaman, 31, was also found guilty of boating under the influence.

The jury of seven men and five women needed roughly two hours to reach a verdict. Linaman, standing with his attorney, showed no emotion when the announcement was made. Deliberations began at roughly 3:45 p.m., following closing arguments by Assistant District Attorney Daniel Itzen and defense attorney Richard Jameison.

Including Linaman, the boat’s owner, there were four people aboard the vessel when it struck a Fremont Canyon wall at Alcova Reservoir on May 16. Everyone aboard suffered severe injuries.

The Army veteran faces more than 20 years behind bars when he is sentenced.

After the announcement of the verdict at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday, Natrona County District Judge David Park revoked Linaman’s bond and placed him into custody. He had been free on $25,000 bond.

Jamie Steward, one of the passengers injured in the crash, struggled to put into words how she felt after the verdict was announced.

“I’m in shock, I guess,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because I really like Seth. He is a good person.”

Steward, who has a metal rod in her leg as a result of the incident, said she felt like everyone on the boat made bad decisions on the day of the crash. Still, she said, she feels no ill will toward Linaman, whom she described as a friend. “I’m not angry with him at all. I feel bad because his whole life has been turned upside down because of what happened.”

The trial began Monday morning.

Itzen began his closing argument by describing how the boating trip began — the group meeting and drinking at a Casper car wash before deciding to take Linaman’s boat to the reservoir. They stopped for vodka on the way, Itzen said.

Once at the reservoir, Itzen said, an already intoxicated Linaman had trouble backing his boat into the water. “What’s common sense tell you?” the prosecutor said. “This is going to end bad.”

Itzen reiterated to jurors how numerous witnesses testified during the trial about Linaman’s erratic driving of the boat.

Witnesses said the boat suffered two malfunctions — an engine problem and the steering wheel came off — on the day of the crash. Both problems were remedied and the boating expedition continued, according to courtroom testimony.

“What did 90-proof reason tell him?” Itzen said while pointing toward the defendant. “Party on.”

After traveling to Fremont Canyon, witnesses said, Linaman eventually yielded the driver’s seat to Charles Denney. Prosecutors say on the way out of the canyon, Linaman, standing between the boat’s two front seats, reached across Denney, grabbed the steering wheel and throttled the boat into an oncoming wake.

The boat, a 23-foot 1979 Excalibur speedboat, was propelled into the air after hitting the wake. After landing, it made an immediate right turn and hit the canyon wall going at least 26 mph.

Defense attorney Richard Jameison, however, told jurors Linaman was seated behind Denney when the accident occurred. Expert witness Jon Bready, who testified for the defense, backed up that claim while on the witness stand Wednesday.

Bready said Linaman’s injuries — including a broken arm, severely lacerated shin and facial trauma — were consistent with him having been seated behind the driver’s seat at the time of impact. Had Linaman been standing when the boat crashed, he would have been ejected from the boat, he said.

Bready also contended that Denney’s broken back was partly the result of Linaman slamming into the back of the driver’s chair when the boat crashed.

Jameison told jurors Bready’s reconstruction of the accident was solid.

“He looked for physical evidence,” the defense attorney said. “Things that do not change, things that do not have memories, things that do not have motives.”

Itzen noted to jurors that Bready did not produce a report of his findings or inspect the accident site. During cross-examination, Bready told Itzen he based his study on evidence his lawyer supplied him.

“What he got, ladies and gentlemen, was a check for $10,000,” Itzen said.

Jameison said Bready did not produce a report of his findings simply because the state carries the burden of proof. “That’s the prosecution’s job,” he said.

Gary Boyd, a boat accident reconstructionist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, testified for the prosecution Tuesday, saying his investigation of the crash put Linaman standing between the front seats and grabbing control of the boat before the accident.

Denney and Steward, as well as passenger Allen Sosa, testified during the trial that Linaman grabbed the boat’s wheel and throttle from Denney before the crash.

Jameison spent part of the trial chipping away at the credibility of the passengers’ testimony. During the investigation, Steward changed her initial story, he said. He then claimed Sosa — who has undergone at least seven surgeries since the crash — was testifying for financial reasons.

Sosa told jurors his testimony was based on “criminal reasons,” not financial.

Jameison — who claimed Denney, not Linaman, should have been charged — told jurors the prosecution harbored “hate” for his client. “Hate has no place in the courtroom,” he said.

Itzen, saying the prosecution’s case was based on facts, said later, “Seth Linaman could be Santa Claus. That doesn’t matter.”

--William Browning