Dettloff case to jury

Kim Smith

Wednesday, March 13, 2002 | 10:54 a.m.

If Mitchell Dettloff were truly trying to avoid responsibility for a fatal car crash April 22, he would not have driven through the accident scene only moments later, his attorney told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.

"What makes sense is Mr. Dettloff, at that time, didn't know about the accident, he didn't know of the carnage left behind," defense attorney Richard Wright said.

Dettloff faces 11 counts in connection with the accident that claimed the lives of Holly Barton, her 8-year-old son Benjamin, and 30-year-old Brian Cooper.

Jurors were to begin deliberating this morning. Leaving the scene of the accident carries a two to 15-year sentence; reckless driving carries a one to six-year sentence. Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by a one to four-year term.

Prosecutors allege that moments after Dettloff merged onto U.S. 95 from Ann Road he inexplicably drifted right, over-corrected and veered left into the Ford F-250 pickup carrying James Barton and his family.

The Barton vehicle then went across the dirt median and struck Cooper's vehicle head-on.

James Barton, who was critically injured, recovered.

According to court testimony, Dettloff fled the scene, picked up his children and drove back through the accident scene 15 to 20 minutes later in his damaged vehicle.

The 36-year-old former restaurant manager testified that he felt a bump, regained control of his car and left the scene because he didn't see that anyone had pulled to the side of the road.

Dettloff was arrested two days later and charged with four counts each of leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving. He also faces three counts of involuntary manslaughter.

For jurors to convict Dettloff of reckless driving, they must find that he acted "willfully and wantonly." To convict him of involuntary manslaughter, they must believe he was "criminally negligent."

Wright questioned how jurors could do so when none of the experts called by either side could explain why Dettloff moved right, then veered left.

The defense attorney also reminded jurors of the testimony of psychiatrists who said Dettloff has long suffered from panic attacks, and if he had known about the severity of the crash he would have "gone nuts."

Instead, Wright said, Dettloff only began suffering from panic attacks the next morning, when he learned three people had died and he may have played a role.

Wright also attacked the credibility of many of the state's 16 witnesses, alleging they were influenced by stories planted in the media by prosecutors.

Prosecutors told the media that Dettloff screamed obscenities at the dying victims and went to a topless club the night of the crash, Wright said. As a result, he said, many people came to the conclusion that Dettloff was a "human piece of garbage" and a "puke."

"I don't fault the witnesses for how they feel. I understand how they feel, but the problem is none of it is true," Wright said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said allegations about Dettloff were never discussed during the trial. The media, he said, read about them in the grand jury transcripts.

Booker told the jurors that Wright simply wanted to divert their attention away from the facts of the case.

The testimony of the psychiatrists was also intended to throw the jury off, Booker said.

Dettloff left the scene of the accident when a dozen other people, some of whom weren't involved in the accident, remained, Booker said. He left because he knew he had caused the crash and did not want to accept responsibility.

"Why did these people stay? Because they knew they hadn't none anything wrong. It's very simple, elementary," Booker said.

While no one knows why Dettloff veered right and then left, Booker reminded jurors that at least two witnesses testified he was driving recklessly before the crash.

A neighbor said Dettloff squealed his tires when he left his neighborhood, and another woman testified he fish-tailed when he entered the freeway at a high rate of speed, Booker said.

"James Barton didn't have a chance" when Dettloff struck him," Booker said. "If Mario Andretti had been driving, he couldn't have controlled that vehicle because physics was in and driver ability was out."