‘I’ll see you dead or in hell first’: Tempers flare as Bell gets 90-days
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“I’m not going to forgive you. I’ll hate you until the day you die,” said the victim’s brother, William Baker, saying the agreement was a mockery of the court system. “I’ll see you dead or in hell first.”
Baker’s comments came after the plea agreement was reached for Michael Eugene Bell Jr. He entered a guilty plea to the charge of vehicular homicide by intoxication and was directed to serve 90 days of an eight-year sentence with the balance to be served on probation.
Bell faced the charge after his truck slammed head-on into the oncoming truck driven by Baker, 52, on White Hall Road on the afternoon of Nov. 19, 2000. Baker died as he was being airlifted for treatment. Lawmen later found Bell was on the wrong side of the road and had an alcohol content of .08, which was just under the state’s legal limit.
In announcing the agreement, District Attorney General Dale Potter said he was not happy with the deal, but given the problems in the case, going to trial would be like “rolling the dice.”
Specifically, Potter said Bell did not fail the on-scene sobriety test, administered more than an hour following the wreck. Potter also pointed out Bell was allowed to go by private vehicle for his blood alcohol test since he was not placed under arrest. The test was administered four hours after the wreck, meaning Bell’s alcohol content could have been higher, even as high as .14, at the time of the crash.
However, Potter said it would be difficult to prove the higher level given the variables which affect the reduction of alcohol in the system. Potter pointed out the place where the wreck happened was a narrow two-lane secondary road which the defense would say was not an uncommon place for people to be across the center-line.
“I don’t blame them a bit for wanting more time,” Potter said, noting problems from the on-scene investigation made a conviction remote. Bell would have faced eight to 12 years in prison if convicted of the charge.
Defense attorney Michael Galligan agreed, saying the evidence would have likely not proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Odds are he would have been turned loose,” Galligan said.
Following his plea, Bell apologized to members of the victim’s family.
“I wish there is something I could do,” Bell said. “I’ll have to live with this the rest of my life.”
Bell’s mother, Patricia Bell, also apologized to the family, noting in a twist of irony, her son’s daughter was born two years to the day after the fatal wreck.
The victim’s son, Anthony Baker, said that Bell’s actions have destroyed two families.
“Not only has it destroyed my family, it’s destroyed yours too,” Baker said. “I hope you can live with it.”
While most of the family voiced their displeasure with the agreement, the victim’s widow, Debra Baker, expressed forgiveness.
“He was my husband, my boyfriend, my life, my everything,” Mrs. Baker told Bell, looking him in the eye. “We were supposed to grow old together and die together. I had to forgive you, but I won’t forget. I feel sorry for you, I really do.”
While noting the plea was likely the only way to get jail time out of Bell, Special Judge Charles Haston said probation officers will be keeping a close eye on Bell, who has had prior arrests for marijuana, assault, evading arrest and disorderly conduct.
“He’ll owe you and me eight years if he messes up just once,” said Haston in pronouncing sentence.