A trial for the Juneau man facing murder charges after a fatal car crash last summer is now slated for March.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez on Thursday scheduled a 10-day trial to begin on March 12 for Ryan West.
Originally slated for December, the trial had been pushed back as the discovery and motion filing process continued.
West, 25, was involved in a single-vehicle crash near Mile 32 of Glacier Highway on June 6, 2011, that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Gabriel Carte. He was indicted by a grand jury in August on one count of second-degree murder, an unclassified felony.
Juneau Police Department officers who responded to the scene originally determined alcohol and speed to be factors in the case.
Prosecutors allege West was the driving the pickup truck at the time of the crash, while the defense maintains he was not.
West’s lawyer David Seid argued in recent court documents there is no evidence his client’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit of 0.08, and his client should have never been charged with murder. Seid cited previous Alaska case law stating that charge should be reserved only in instances of “extreme intoxication with egregious driving conduct.”
District Attorney Dave Brower, in a motion filed Wednesday of this week, countered the case is not about extreme intoxication. Rather, Brower said it’s about whether West knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in Carte’s death and showed extreme indifference to the value of human life, as stated in the indictment.
“In this case, the defendant’s conduct was apparently not clouded by an excessive amount of alcohol in his system, which is to say his actions bordered on intentional conduct,” Brower wrote in opposition of Seid’s motion to dismiss West’s indictment. Brower added it was “the very bad driving here” that resulted in the death of Carte.
A pretrial hearing will be held in court March 1.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (46)
Add commentEven if the Murder II charge
Even if the Murder II charge doesn't stick in trial, Crim Neg Homice or Manslaughter should be lesser included crimes. My guess is he will still do time as they are both class A or B Felonys. Don't need to prove intoxication to prove murder!
However...
However, they would have to prove he was driving the vehicle, correct?
Blog or not...
I think when you're writing things that are going to be made public, you should at least be aware of mistakes. That way you know for future reference. I wasn't trying to be anal retentive, but if you want to post things and sound intelligent, spell your words correctly. dictionary.com is just one click away. And I just got my degree in English (which I'm is a great accomplishment and I'm very proud of it) and I don't drink coffee and I hate eggs and I prefer my cranberry juice straight up.
"knock some sense into him"
I agree. This comment sounds like something Aunt Bea would say on the Andy Griffith show.
Violence is a cycle. Violence begets violence.
"Well, I got beated up on in prison, and now, I am a totally sensible human bean, and I ain't gonna do nuthin' stoopit ever agin."
Thanks AkMum. You may now go back to watching the Fox TV blonds.
Veteran's highway
At what point does Glacier Highway become Veteran's Highway?
No matter how upset people get about this subject.
He will be walking around by this time next year. It's a proven fact. There have been so many serious crimes here in Juneau. They get caught, get put in empire, everyone gets upset. But in the end, when all said and done. He will be out in a year. Get used to it. That's our justice system at work. Example: A man on felony probation gets in trouble for pointing a gun at someone on Egan drive. Remember he is on Felony Probation. He was arrested. It was all over the news. He was guilty and convicted for his crime. I saw that same person 3 months later at the bowling alley. So get used to it. I guess that what the public defenders are paid for. To make deals with the D.A. and vice-versa. God Bless America! Lol
I love reading this stuff! I
I love reading this stuff! I do have to say though, I agree with Ak_Mom when it comes to our legal system. It sucks! For example, I have read many times about plea deals being made in courts. Why should any DA be able to make a plea deal on behalf of any defendant to shorten the length of their sentence? That makes no sense to me, especially if the plea is guilty..???
This has absolutely nothing to do with the article above, I just wanted to put my 2 cents in.
Charges need to remain the same
Ryan has not learned his listen he's gotten his 2nd even a 3rd chance already......2nd chance came when he decided to take a young man out the road and he died 3rd. Chance when he violated his 10 yr probation and was picked up shortly after the death of someone for using ....how much more is it going to take....Ryan has made a family sonless a chlld fatherless a girlfriend boyfriend less and friends one friend less Ryan needs to be made an example that this type of behavior and Choices will NO LONGER be talorated in Juneau it's time to clean up our town from poor decision makers like Ryan
Back to the point
The bottom line is, the prosecution has to PROVE without a reasonable doubt that A. He was driving and B. He was intoxicated. We all will have wait for the verdict in court.
So now, you all can continue to rant and argue about what you think should happen to him.