VIERA — Celebrity motorcycle builder Billy Lane said he has driven every day for nearly three years past a stretch of State Road A1A in Melbourne Beach where he fatally struck and killed Gerald Morelock in a head-on collision.
It’s there, Lane said in court Friday, that “I pray to God for his soul and for his family.”
For the next six years, Lane will be an inmate in the Florida Department of Corrections after a judge delivered his sentence Friday in Morelock’s Sept. 4, 2006, death. Police said Lane was driving drunk — his blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit — when his pickup collided with the 56-year-old’s motorcycle.
He had faced up to nine years in prison under the terms of a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest to one count of vehicular homicide.
“I take full responsibility,” Lane, choking back tears, told the judge before his sentencing. “I was very careless. I’m not looking for pity on myself. Whatever you decide today, judge . . . I hope you’ll look at Mr. Morelock and myself and make a fair decision.”
Circuit Court Judge Robert Berger also sentenced Lane to three years of probation and suspended his driver’s license for life.
Lane also must attend a victim awareness class and undergo random drug and alcohol testing during his probation. He already has completed a court-ordered class about driving under the influence, his attorney said.
The sentence capped three years of legal wrangling, which included a change in defense attorneys, a change in judges and a settlement of a wrongful death suit brought by the victim’s family. A civil suit filed by Lane’s passenger, who was injured in the crash, lingers in civil court.
The judge in June approved a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop the DUI manslaughter charge, saying both charges carry the same penalty, and their goal was for Lane to accept responsibility.
In court Friday, Lane’s attorney, Greg Eisenmenger, argued for a sentence without prison time, citing a desire by Morelock’s family for a “positive resolution” and saying the need for restitution outweighed the need for incarceration.
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Morelock’s brother, Byron Morelock, and the victim’s 19-year-old nephew, Sean Morelock, declined to say what punishment he should receive. But they told the judge that Gerald Morelock loved children, and they asked him to impose a sentence that would use Lane’s celebrity status to help save the lives of young people through a foundation they plan to create.
Lane’s other charitable endeavors for the military, children and seniors and previous public service announcements created through his production company show his proven record of reaching others, Eisenmenger said.
“You can’t bring a person’s life back,” Eisenmenger said.
Burger granted the defense’s request to sentence Lane to fewer than the nine years called for under sentencing guidelines on grounds that the incident was isolated and that the defendant was remorseful.
But the judge sided with prosecutor Tom Brown, who said a lack of prison time would send the wrong message that fame and money buy freedom.
In arguing for the maximum sentence, Brown pointed out a number of speeding violations and other traffic infractions on Lane’s driving record. Though Lane’s history included no DUIs, Brown said the incidents demonstrated a pattern of bad driving habits, indicating that the 2006 crash was not a one-time event.
Lane, he said, made the choice to cross two solid yellow lines to pass three cars at 68 mph — ignoring several opportunities to return to his correct lane and creating an impact so great that one of Morelock’s legs was severed and palm trees were knocked down.
“We have multiple incidents of the defendant using poor judgment,” Brown said. “It was simply a matter of time until someone was going to get hurt. It was unfortunate it was Mr. Morelock.”
It was a sentence that neither satisfied Lane’s supporters nor Morelock’s family.
Lane, whose eyes welled with tears as his friends and family spoke on his behalf, did not react Friday as the sentence was read.
His supporters shouted, “Love you, Billy,” as he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs. They declined to comment on the sentence.
Morelock’s family said they have built a relationship with Lane, who made a face-to-face apology early in the case that they know was sincere, and they will push on with plans to create a foundation in the victim’s name.
Lane’s mother, Marion Lane, hugged Sean Morelock as she left the courtroom.
“It’s not over; it’s just begun,” Sean Morelock said as he stood outside the courtroom with his father, Byron Morelock, reflecting on the past three years. “It sort of makes us all family, and I feel bad for his family. In a way, we’re all doing time with him.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090815/NEWS01/90815001/1006/6+years+in+prison+for+Billy+Lane
It’s there, Lane said in court Friday, that “I pray to God for his soul and for his family.”
For the next six years, Lane will be an inmate in the Florida Department of Corrections after a judge delivered his sentence Friday in Morelock’s Sept. 4, 2006, death. Police said Lane was driving drunk — his blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit — when his pickup collided with the 56-year-old’s motorcycle.
He had faced up to nine years in prison under the terms of a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest to one count of vehicular homicide.
“I take full responsibility,” Lane, choking back tears, told the judge before his sentencing. “I was very careless. I’m not looking for pity on myself. Whatever you decide today, judge . . . I hope you’ll look at Mr. Morelock and myself and make a fair decision.”
Circuit Court Judge Robert Berger also sentenced Lane to three years of probation and suspended his driver’s license for life.
Lane also must attend a victim awareness class and undergo random drug and alcohol testing during his probation. He already has completed a court-ordered class about driving under the influence, his attorney said.
The sentence capped three years of legal wrangling, which included a change in defense attorneys, a change in judges and a settlement of a wrongful death suit brought by the victim’s family. A civil suit filed by Lane’s passenger, who was injured in the crash, lingers in civil court.
The judge in June approved a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop the DUI manslaughter charge, saying both charges carry the same penalty, and their goal was for Lane to accept responsibility.
In court Friday, Lane’s attorney, Greg Eisenmenger, argued for a sentence without prison time, citing a desire by Morelock’s family for a “positive resolution” and saying the need for restitution outweighed the need for incarceration.
(2 of 2)
Morelock’s brother, Byron Morelock, and the victim’s 19-year-old nephew, Sean Morelock, declined to say what punishment he should receive. But they told the judge that Gerald Morelock loved children, and they asked him to impose a sentence that would use Lane’s celebrity status to help save the lives of young people through a foundation they plan to create.
Lane’s other charitable endeavors for the military, children and seniors and previous public service announcements created through his production company show his proven record of reaching others, Eisenmenger said.
“You can’t bring a person’s life back,” Eisenmenger said.
Burger granted the defense’s request to sentence Lane to fewer than the nine years called for under sentencing guidelines on grounds that the incident was isolated and that the defendant was remorseful.
But the judge sided with prosecutor Tom Brown, who said a lack of prison time would send the wrong message that fame and money buy freedom.
In arguing for the maximum sentence, Brown pointed out a number of speeding violations and other traffic infractions on Lane’s driving record. Though Lane’s history included no DUIs, Brown said the incidents demonstrated a pattern of bad driving habits, indicating that the 2006 crash was not a one-time event.
Lane, he said, made the choice to cross two solid yellow lines to pass three cars at 68 mph — ignoring several opportunities to return to his correct lane and creating an impact so great that one of Morelock’s legs was severed and palm trees were knocked down.
“We have multiple incidents of the defendant using poor judgment,” Brown said. “It was simply a matter of time until someone was going to get hurt. It was unfortunate it was Mr. Morelock.”
It was a sentence that neither satisfied Lane’s supporters nor Morelock’s family.
Lane, whose eyes welled with tears as his friends and family spoke on his behalf, did not react Friday as the sentence was read.
His supporters shouted, “Love you, Billy,” as he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs. They declined to comment on the sentence.
Morelock’s family said they have built a relationship with Lane, who made a face-to-face apology early in the case that they know was sincere, and they will push on with plans to create a foundation in the victim’s name.
Lane’s mother, Marion Lane, hugged Sean Morelock as she left the courtroom.
“It’s not over; it’s just begun,” Sean Morelock said as he stood outside the courtroom with his father, Byron Morelock, reflecting on the past three years. “It sort of makes us all family, and I feel bad for his family. In a way, we’re all doing time with him.”
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090815/NEWS01/90815001/1006/6+years+in+prison+for+Billy+Lane
