Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 25, 1994 TAG: 9405250035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But instead of convicting Gould of first-degree murder for the death of Rebecca Sheppard - a 27-year-old woman struck and killed by Gould's truck - Judge Clifford Weckstein found him guilty Tuesday of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge.
Sheppard was killed last Aug. 6 after Gould walked away from a fight at a party on the 600 block of Marshall Avenue Southwest, only to return seconds later in a speeding pickup truck that veered into the crowded yard.
Sheppard died an innocent bystander; testimony showed that her husband, Tim, punched Gould in the ear for no apparent reason, starting a chain of events that led to her death.
Gould, 37, called it an accident.
"I was not trying to kill anybody," he testified, explaining that he was trying to flee from Tim Sheppard's attack when his truck hit a curb, went out of control and plowed into the yard.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom called it murder.
"When someone takes a truck, runs it off the road and into a crowd of people, it's the same as taking a gun and shooting at them," Branscom said.
After a two-day bench trial in Roanoke Circuit Court, Weckstein ruled that Sheppard's death was neither an accident nor an act of premeditated murder.
In convicting Gould of voluntary manslaughter, Weckstein ruled that the killing was intentional, but that it was committed in the heat of passion.
The murder charge against Gould was unusual in that for most cases involving traffic fatalities, drivers are charged with manslaughter for acting with gross recklessness. Gould was charged with murder because prosecutors believe he used his vehicle as a deadly weapon.
Gould will be sentenced later, and faces a maximum punishment 10 years in prison.
Although Gould was trying to run down either Tim Sheppard or his brother to seek revenge for the attack, Branscom argued, his intent to kill was transferred to Rebecca Sheppard when she became the victim.
In an earlier statement to police, Gould said that Rebecca Sheppard jumped in front of his truck. But he testified Tuesday that he has no recollection of hitting her - only veering into the yard for a second or two.
"I was terrified and scared for my life. ... I just wanted to get out of there," he testified.
Defense attorney Charles Phillips had asked Weckstein to acquit his client, calling Sheppard's death a "tragic accident."
In yet another twist to an unusual case, Weckstein took the rare step Tuesday of moving a portion of the trial to a room at Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where a witness was confined to a bed.
Terry Beasley had been struck by a car last week and was unable to make it to court. With the judge, the defendant, his attorney, prosecutors, sheriff's deputies, reporters and a court clerk all crowded into the room, Beasley testified as a defense witness for Gould.
He said he saw Tim Sheppard strike Gould in the head, and later observed Gould swerve to miss people standing in the street seconds before the impact that killed Rebecca Sheppard.
At one point, Beasley was asked how fast Gould's pickup was traveling.
About as fast as the car that hit him last Friday night, Beasley replied.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB