men accused of drag racing face murder charges!
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. — Courtney Beard and Cortney Hensley were driving home after picking up their homecoming pictures when they stopped at a red light on Sept. 24, 2005.
Hensley, 17, had been crowned Homecoming Queen at David Crockett High School and she and Beard, her best friend, also 17, were anxious to look at the pictures taken the night before.
But before the light turned green, a red Ford Mustang came racing through the intersection and slammed into Beard's Honda CRV at a speed estimated at 125 mph.
The crash sent the Honda some 250 feet, causing it to burst into flames. Hensley was killed, and Beard suffered burns over 30 percent of her body. She spent the next month and a half in a hospital bed.
Prosecutors say the Mustang's driver, Bradley Mullins, was drag racing.
A Washington County jury is expected to hear opening statements this week in the trial of Mullins, 19, and David Phillips, 39.
They are charged with second-degree murder, an alternate count of vehicular homicide, and two counts of attempted murder.
The attempted murder charges stem from injuries to Beard and a female friend of Mullins, who was riding with him when the crash occurred.
Based on grand jury testimony, several witnesses are expected to testify that they saw Phillips challenge Mullins to a race at about 11:40 p.m. by inching up and revving the engine of his red Dodge Viper as the two waited at a red light.
When the light turned green, the cars raced off on the busy street, witness are expected to say.
Washington County District Attorney Pro Tempore Al Schmutzer declined to comment on the case.
Although Mullins' attorney, Don Spurrell, says his client has always accepted responsibility for the crash but he disagrees with the second-degree murder charge.
"There is no prior conduct, no ill will and absolutely nothing to suggest he intended this to happen," Spurrell said. "He was simply not motivated to kill anybody, and the state's suggestion that he did so knowingly is simply preposterous."
The defense attorney said the tragic accident was the result of a "drag race gone bad."
"He was induced by the actions of an older man in a Viper," Spurrell said. "[Phillips] egged him on and all the evidence will support the fact that Mr. Phillips had a propensity to do so."
Spurrell he intends to call a witness who will testify that one week before the crash, "Phillips attempted to race an adult on the same street where this occurred."
Phillips' attorney said that Phillips was on the street that night, but maintains his client wasn't drag racing.
"Our proof and the state's proof indicates that three police officers saw a Mustang smoke up its tires and take off at a high rate of speed," defense lawyer Richard Pectol said. "None of the three officers make any mention of a Viper being at the scene."
On the contrary, he said it was Mullins who unsuccessfully attempted to lure Phillips into racing that night.
Pectol said Phillips' stayed at the scene of the crash and gave the police a voluntary statement.
"[Phillips] tells the police that the driver of the Mustang tried to get him to race and that he shook his head no," Pectol said. "Witnesses at the scene will support his statement."
While Spurrell and Pectol agree on little about the facts in the case, they both believe their clients should have separate trials, although Judge Bob Cupp denied a previous motion. Although both attorneys filed letters with Judge Bob Cupp last week urging that the issue be reconsidered, neither of them expressed confidence that separate trials would be granted.
Neither Phillips nor Mullins has a criminal record, and neither has been offered a chance to plead guilty to lesser charges in the case, according to their lawyers.
If convicted of second-degree murder, they face 15 to 25 years in prison. The sentence for attempted murder is eight to 12 years in prison, and the sentence for a vehicular manslaughter conviction is three to six years in prison.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Halfwit
