Jurors Convict Man in Wreck that Killed Texas Officer



ASSOCIATED PRESS



FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A jury found a motorist guilty of intoxication manslaughter Tuesday in the death of a Grapevine police officer who died after being struck while standing beside a car he had pulled over last summer.

The blood-alcohol level of Roy Adams Jr., 29, was 0.11 an hour after the accident, officials testified during the trial. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08.

Adams had been to two Dallas nightclubs and was driving home to Bedford when his car hit Darren Medlin, 34, a four-year veteran of the department.

Adams' chin dropped to his chest, and family members of both Adams and Darren Medlin began crying as the verdict was read, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Tuesday.

Testifying in his own defense Friday, Adams told Medlin's family he was ''deeply remorseful'' for their loss but insisted he wasn't drunk or asleep when the crash happened. Adams and his attorney have said he ''blacked out'' and have focused on a seizure problem they said he had.

Jurors began hearing testimony in the trial's punishment phase shortly after returning the verdict. Adams faces up to 20 years in prison.

Medlin was killed June 12, 2004, after he had pulled over a Ford Mustang on Texas 121 in Euless, near the Grapevine border. He was hit shortly after reaching the driver's window.

Video from Medlin's patrol car showed a dark-colored Lincoln strike him and the car he pulled over. Medlin was thrown onto the Lincoln's windshield before he fell to the ground.

Adams was arrested shortly after the accident.

He's screwed.  Texas being one of the few states that still has tough punishments.  In my state he would get probation. In Texas I'll bet he gets state prison time.

He's so F****d. Good for him.

Where is that 'express lane' Ron White talks about?

Officer Drew Bolin from here died the same way.  The driver in his case "wasn't drunk" either. She served less than 4 years if I remember correctly.  

Quoted: Where is that 'express lane' Ron White talks about?

HAHAHA

He's gettin on it.

Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Texas Officer's Death

ASSOCIATED PRESS



FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Jurors sentenced a man to 12½ years in prison Wednesday for the death of a Grapevine police officer who died after being struck while standing alongside a car he had pulled over last summer.

Roy Alvin Adams Jr., 29, of Bedford, will have to serve six years and three months before becoming eligible for parole, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the jury convicted Adams in the death of Darren Medlin, 34.

The jury deliberated Adams' sentence for about four hours over two days.

Testifying in his own defense late last week, Adams told Medlin's relatives he was ''deeply remorseful'' but insisted he wasn't drunk or asleep at the time of the crash. Adams and his attorney contended he ''blacked out,'' and they focused on a seizure problem they said he had.

Adams' blood-alcohol level an hour after the accident was 0.11, officials testified during the trial. Texas' legal limit is 0.08.

Adams had been to two Dallas nightclubs and was driving home to Bedford when his car hit Medlin, a four-year veteran of the department, on Texas 121 in Euless. Medlin had pulled over another car for speeding.

Video from Medlin's patrol car showed a dark-colored Lincoln strike him and the car he pulled over. Medlin was thrown onto the windshield before he fell to the ground.

We should have the death penalty for drunk drivers like Brazil does.