
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994                   TAG: 9404120137
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRIAL TO SETTLE DUI MURDER ISSUE

The issue of whether a motorist should be convicted of murder for a DUI-related fatality was not settled Monday in a Roanoke courtroom - but it was settled in Kim Clement's mind nearly half a year ago.

"It should be the case for anybody in a drunk-driving case, when somebody is killed," Clement said.

Last October, Clement's mother, Brenda Jean Jones, was killed in an accident that authorities say was caused when a drunken driver crossed the median strip of the Roy Webber Highway and plowed into oncoming traffic.

In an unusual move, prosecutors have charged Michael L. Jacobs with murder in connection with Jones' death. Usually, drunken drivers who cause fatal accidents are charged with involuntary manslaughter.

But in attempting to show that Jacobs acted with malice - the legal element required for a conviction of second-degree murder - prosecutors are expected to point to a DUI conviction he received in Roanoke County in 1991. Part of his sentence for that offense was to attend classes, conducted by the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, that stress the dangers of driving drunk.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that Jacobs' driving indicated malice because his classes essentially had given him prior warning.

That issue was not addressed Monday, when Jacobs was in Roanoke Circuit Court for a routine hearing on pretrial matters. His trial has been scheduled for June 1.

If successful, the murder prosecution could subject Jacobs, 23, to one of the most severe penalties for an alcohol-related accident in the Roanoke Valley - up to 40 years in prison.

In a brief interview after the hearing, Clement said she hopes prosecutors will file murder charges in other DUI-related fatalities. "I can't believe that with something like this, it's just automatically involuntary manslaughter," she said.

"I think this should open the door for other victims of drunk drivers."

by CNB