DWI HIT PARADE: Thomas Hawks pleaded guilty to killing three children in 2018 PG County DUI crash; sentenced to 22 years in prison (Life would have been appropriate)

DWI HIT PARADE: Thomas Hawks pleaded guilty to killing three children in DUI crash; sentenced to 22 years in prison

UPDATE: THOMAS HAWKS SENTENCED TO 22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR MOTOR VEHICLE MANSLAUGHTER
Drunk Driver Kills Three Young Children, Severely Injures Parents

UPPER MARLBORO, MD – Prince George’s County Circuit Judge Jared McCarthy sentenced Thomas Hawks to 36, suspend all but 22 years, in prison for causing the deaths of three young children and severely injuring their parents, announced State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.

On July 1, 2019, Hawks, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts of motor vehicle manslaughter and two counts of causing life-threatening injuries while under the influence of alcohol.

Upon release, Hawks will be on supervised probation for five years, and will not be allowed to drive without an interlock device. He also must undergo alcohol counseling and complete 280 hours of community service, 56 hours per year over a period of five years.

“This case is very significant in that it has changed the way in which the State’s Attorney’s Office handles motor vehicle manslaughter cases.  I have taken steps to ensure we are able to collect the evidence needed to move forward in these cases quicker,” Braveboy said. “This incident was a parent’s worst nightmare. I applaud the Mejia family for their strength and courage to seek justice for themselves and their children.”

DWI HIT PARADE Copyright 2019

On December 30, 2018, Hawks was driving at a high rate of speed southbound on Maryland Route 210 while under the influence of alcohol.  Hawks slammed into a Honda Accord, occupied by the Mejia family.  Alexis and Juana Mejia sustained life-threatening injuries and their three young children, twins, Alexander and Rosalie, five years old, and their one-year-old brother, Isaac, were killed.

ALEXANDER, ROSALIE, AND ISAAC KILLED BY DRUNK DRIVER THOMAS HAWKS

FORT WASHINGTON, MD. – The busy highway that links the Washington Beltway and southern Prince George’s County is a death trap at most any time of the day or night, with wild and crazy drivers roaring up the divided highway at speeds well in excess of the posted limits.  Motorists can be seen passing on the right shoulder of the roadway, running red lights, tailgating and even achieving speeds of 80 mph while weaving through traffic.  Then, there are the drunk and drugged drivers. They are killers of the first degree.

One of them, who killed three children in December, has now pleaded guilty to killing the Mejia family’s three small children as he drove his pickup truck into the rear of the family’s small car which was stopped in traffic.

Thomas Daniel Hawks will be sentenced next month.

After the fatal wreck twenty-one criminal counts in the Indictment were issued by Prince George’s County Circuit Court Grand Jury on Jan. 24, 2019 against Thomas Daniel Hawks, of 3995 Lee Lane, White Plains, Md.

Hawks has been free on an $80,000 bond.

Prince-Georges-Circuit-Court-Judge-Jared-McCarthy stands for election in 2020. Is he simply an idiot?

The guilty plea was entered to three counts of manslaughter on July 1, 2019, and a sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 26, 2019, before Prince Georges County Circuit Court Judge Jared McCarthy. Judge McCarthy could have ordered Hawks to be incarcerated prior to sentencing and give credit for that time served – but he didn’t – and allowed the bond to be continued until the sentencing hearing even though the court accepted the plea.  

Twins Alexander and Rosalie Mejia, and their brother 1-year- old Isaac were killed in when Thomas Daniel Hawks slammed his pickup truck into the rear end of their stopped car near Wilson Bridge Drive.

GoFundMe effort raised over $118,000 for the parents

FROM THE GOFUNDME: “Yesterday, we put 3 beautiful angels to rest. Their time here was short but impactful with how many lives they touched. We will never be able to replace their love but will treasure their memories and all the joy they brought. They are now in a better place, watching over their family and friends.

It was amazing to see how much support from the community was present in the last two days and especially since the tragedy. Whether support through prayer, in kind words, and contribution, it has all meant so much to my dear friends and family.

I please ask that as get closer to withdrawing the funds from this GFM this week, that we have one last push. Please share, share, and share again. Please spread the word. Again, nothing will replace Alexander, Rosalie, and Isaac, but we can make this experience a little less strenuous for this family.”





NBC 4 Investigation Reveals Nearly all DUI Drivers on Indian Head Highway Avoid Jail





Nearly all drunken drivers who caused crashes on Maryland’s troubled Indian Head Highway in Prince George’s County avoided jail sentences over the past three years, according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team.

A review of more than 40 DUI crashes on the highway between January 2016 and December 2018 shows most drivers were spared from serving time behind bars, despite causing injuries in many cases and regardless of whether they had prior DUI arrests.

The I-Team reviewed police reports and court filings from all of the dozens of DUI car accidents on Indian Head Highway (State Route 210) over the three-year span. The review shows most drivers charged in Prince George’s County secured probation before judgment in their cases or pleaded guilty to a lesser charge than DUI, helping those drivers avoid jail sentences and reducing a blemish on their driving and criminal records.

The I-Team found as few as five of the 44 people charged with driving under the influence of alcohol served jail time after the close of their cases. In those five cases, a judge reduced each of the jail terms to a matter of days. Those cases also included other serious charges, including drugs or resisting arrest.

A smaller sample of cases reviewed by the I-Team, from spring 2017, shows tougher sentences for DUI cases along the Charles County stretch of Indian Head Highway. All five drivers charged with DUI on the highway in Charles County were sentenced to jail time or supervised release. According to publicly available court records, none of those charged in Prince George’s County are shown to have served sentences of jail time or supervised release during that span.

Safety advocates said the I-Team’s findings indicate the Prince George’s County judicial system allows more lenient punishments for drunken driving. They said the findings also run counter to state and county efforts to improve safety on Indian Head Highway, which has a string of fatal accidents in the past year.

“It’s not acceptable and it will not be acceptable under my administration,” State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said. “This is a new day in Prince George’s County.”

Driver Out on Bond in Md. Crash That Killed 3 Young Children

“I think the state’s attorney’s office did a really good job in bringing forward these cases but I think the justice system did not take these (DUI) cases very seriously,” Braveboy said.

Braveboy said prosecutors have long sought jail time for DUI in the county but have failed to secure jail sentences in a circuit court system that has been referred to as a “rocket docket” in which DUI cases moves speedily.

“I think the state’s attorney’s office did a really good job in bringing forward these cases but I think the justice system did not take these (DUI) cases very seriously,” Braveboy said.

Braveboy and several legal analysts in the county told the I-Team the system for adjudicating in Prince George’s County was unique between 2016 and 2018. Most of the cases were managed by a single judge, who used a speedier system in which outcomes were predictable and based on written guidelines. Braveboy said the system allowed drunken drivers and defense attorneys to easily navigate their cases to avoid jail time.

Prince George’s Promises Route 210 Crackdown After 3 Deaths

In a statement to News4, the state court system acknowledged Prince George’s County courts had for years used a “unique” system for adjudicating DUI/DWI cases, overseen primarily by a single judge. Several legal analysts and Braveboy said the system has offered predictable outcomes for defendants and was used to speed cases to completion. The Maryland court system said Prince George’s County courts recently ceased using the system. A spokeswoman for the state court system said the judge who’d recently overseen many DUI cases has left the bench for unrelated reasons. She said any of 24 circuit court judges in the county can now oversee DUI cases.

“We’re seeing lots of DUI case dismissals in Prince George’s County, and that’s really concerning to us,” said Lisa Spicknall, director of the Maryland chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In February, county leaders announced new initiatives to improve safety on Indian Head Highway, including enhanced traffic enforcement and new speed cameras.

Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks was PG States Attorney and established a solid record of being a weak prosecutor who allowed many DUI charges to be dropped, thus not the responsibility of the Rocket Docket Judge. Is she just an idiot?

“We have to change the behavior of motorists who travel on this road,” County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said.    MORE

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Commercial dump truck operator cited for his 3rd DUI arrest in a big rig

Durran Leonardo Beasley, 56, of 8211 Rison Drive, Brandywine, Md., 3/30/2018 @ 1020 M/Tpr. Davis. Beasley was cited for DUI while operating a 1997 Kenwood Dump Truck while westbound on Sands Road west of Myles Drive. He was also cited for driving a commercial vehicle with a measurable amount of alcohol in his system, which carries a fine of $1,010.00. Beasley was also cited with a $90 fine for failing to have a valid medical examiners certificate in his possession. In addition to driving a dump truck while allegedly three sheets to the wind, this bozo was operating a truck that police cited for having brake linings that are inadequate with a fine of $540.00

On Feb. 6, 2017, Beasley was cited for operating his truck without insurance. The charge was dropped by Prince Georges County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks.

On May 5, 2014, Beasley entered into a plea deal in Prince Georges District Court when cited for a series of violations. Beasley pleaded guilty to driving while suspended on Rt. 4 south of Dower House Road by a Maryland State Trooper with the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. THE DEAL: No jail time and a find of $100.00. A citation for having bad tires was dropped by States Attorney Alsobrooks and Beasley entered a guilty plea to the brakes on his 1989 Freightliner truck being inoperative. THE DEAL: a fine of $200.00.

Beasley was cited while operating a truck on Rt. 210 at Old Fort Road on May 6, 2013, by Maryland State Trooper M. Kemp and also ticketed for low air warning device inoperative, which resulted in a guilty plea in a plea deal with Prince George’s County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks on June 27, 2013. THE DEAL: a verdict of Probation Before Judgement along with two other defective equipment citations on the truck were merged with this citation and a total fine of $200 was assessed.

Beasley was arrested for DUI by Maryland State Trooper S. Weaver while operating a 1989 Freightliner truck southbound on I-270 at Hyattstown weight station facility on June 5, 2013, at 10:04 am. No jail time and the DUI charges were dropped by Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy on Dec. 5, 2013. THE DEAL: Beasley was fined $140 for having parts and accessories not in safe condition and brakes being out of adjustment.

Beasley was arrested for DUI, refusing to sign the citation as if he was in one of the Smokey and The Bandit movies, operating an uninsured vehicle, hit and run with a property damage collision on Sept. 14, 1998. In a plea deal in Prince Georges Circuit Court, Beasley entered a guilty plea on Jan. 7, 1999. Court records do not reveal any fine or jail sentence in the matter.

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