Berry sentenced to four years in aggravated vehicular homicide case
Lead Summary
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
A Sardinia man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to his involvement in a 2010 car crash that killed a Hillsboro man. The Highland County Prosecutor alleged to the court that the defendant was racing another car at speeds near 100 mph and, "When they collided, it was like NASCAR."
Mickey Berry pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony of the third degree, in Highland County Common Pleas Court. He appeared Wednesday before Judge Rocky Coss for sentencing.
In August, a driver of another car in the crash, Kevin Dehaas, also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, and was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison, with a lifetime suspension of driving privileges.
As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Dehaas was driving southbound on state Route 138 in a 1996 Saturn on Sept. 17, 2010 when he allegedly attempted to pass a Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Berry, 23, according to a report from the Wilmington Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Henry Stroop, 64, of Lynchburg, was driving northbound on state Route 138 in a 2008 PT Cruiser and was struck head-on by both vehicles, according the Post. Stroop died from injuries sustained in the crash.
Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins requested Berry be sentenced to four years Wednesday, and said that since there was no trial, in either case, the court was unaware of some of the circumstances regarding the crash.
Berry's car, according to Collins, was equipped with an "airbag module" that acted like a black box in an airplane, recording vehicle information in the ten seconds leading up to the crash. Collins said that the module showed acceleration at 100 percent.
"He had the pedal down," Collins said. "At no point did he attempt to slow down."
The incident began, Collins said, when Dehaas pulled out in front of Berry's vehicle. Berry then passed the Dehaas vehicle. Dehaas then attempted to pass the Berry vehicle, but Berry sped up. The cars were moving side by side, taking up both lanes of state Route 138 at a speed of 96 mph when the Dehaas vehicle struck the Berry vehicle.
"Instead of letting (Dehaas) over (Berry) sped up. They were essentially drag racing," Collins said. "When they collided, it was like NASCAR."
The impact caused the Berry vehicle to cross the roadway in front of the Dehaas car, where it collided with the Stroop vehicle. Berry's car proceeded off the left side of the roadway, and the Dehass vehicle struck Stroop's vehicle.
"There was no doubt this was a intentional act of racing," Collins said.
Family members of the victim addressed the court, and spoke directly to Berry, as they had during Dehaas's sentencing.
The victim's wife asked that Berry move from behind his attorney so that she could see him as she spoke, and he turned to face the family.
"Mickey Berry, this was no accident. It was murder with a car," she said. "My husband's name was Henry Franklin Stroop, so you will never forget it. I do not hate you, but I have tried. My God does not allow it."
The victim's wife was wearing a button with her husband's face on it, and she held it out toward Beery and said, "This is the man you killed."
She said that she had to try to explain to her grandchildren why their grandpa had gone to Heaven.
"So did you win or did you lose the race? Surely you lost. You are a widow-maker," she said. "So you kill and you try to get out of it. You have brought shame to your family, to have such a son. Your past has caught up with you. Do you even know the Lord our God? This man you took from us lived for God and for his family. You will pay for your evil Satan ways. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I hope to be in Heaven with Jesus before you are given a chance to kill again. Some people are a blessing and some people are a lesson. Guess which one you are. All because you wanted to have some fun."
Regarding the sentence she said, "You get a few years in prison, my husband gets Heaven and we get life."
Holding up a printed card that she said her husband was carrying on him the day he died, she read, "'The key to Heaven was hung on the cross.' Do you even know what that means? Do you?"
She repeated, "Do you?" until the defendant nodded his head, indicating that he did know.
"Then you know what you did, and you know what your punishment is," she said.
The daughter of the victim also addressed the court, saying that in addition to the loss of her father, she and her brother have had to watch her mother fade as well.
"I am the daughter of the man you killed. Three hundred and seventy-six days ago you killed my dad," she said, as she was fighting back tears. "That you have been able to get up every morning and breathe God's fresh air and hug your loved ones makes me sick. The day you killed my dad you also killed my mom. She is half the person she was because you took the other half of her. She sits in his chair and wraps herself in his blanket, clutching his picture, crying and praying. We will now serve the life sentence that you deserve. Remember when you lay your head down on your filthy pillow in your filthy prison cell that you have yet to face the final judgment. God has the final word."
Berry's attorney Bruce Wallace addressed the court, and then addressed the family, saying that he understood their pay, because he also lost a loved one in a car crash.
"I am sorry for your loss, and I understand your loss," Wallace said. "I know what you're going through. I lost a loved one to a wreck for no reason. I am not going to tell you that it gets better or that you ever forget. I went to a football game at Richmond High School last Friday night and cried the whole way there, because 11 years ago my nephew went to a football game at Richmond High School and died in a car wreck on the way home."
Wallace said, "When Mickey Berry got up that day he had no intention of causing harm to anyone. Time doesn't heal, but life goes on."
Wallace asked the court to take into consideration that Berry had entered a guilty plea, and had no felony criminal record prior to the incident.
"Mr. Berry was in the correct lane, but traveling in an excessive speed," Wallace said. "In entering the plea agreement, the state said it would recommend four years. We ask that the court not impose more than four years. He understands he is likely to be incarcerated today. We ask that you not impose the maximum of five years. We understand that there are victims, but there are also statutory factors."
Berry told the court that he took responsibility for what he did, and he hopes he can earn the forgiveness of the family.
The day of the accident, "I had no intention of getting up and committing the horrible accident that happened," Berry said. "I'm not a bad person. I didn't want for none of this to happen. I understand that he was the most important person in your life. I don't fully understand you all's pain, but my girlfriend was almost killed in that crash. I just intend to take responsibility, and I hope that God and your family will be able to forgive me for what happened."
Coss said that, "This was a great tragedy and it should not have happened. This is the greatest harm a victim can suffer. In the family's eyes it's murder. But it's not, it's aggravated vehicular homicide, and my job is to follow the law and apply the law."
Law requires, Coss said, that he consider all the factors of the case. The Ohio Risk Assessment Tool, which the state of Ohio now requires court systems to utilize in determining the likelihood in which a defendant may reoffend, Coss said that Berry had the lowest score he had seen, meaning that he was unlikely to reoffend.
Coss noted that Dehaas, who was sentenced to the maximum sentence with a lifetime suspension of driving privileges, had a previous criminal history.
"I have to make a decision on what the law requires me to do," Coss said.
Coss sentenced Berry to four years in prison, and suspended his license for 10 years. Berry was given three days of jail time credit, and was remanded to custody.
A Sardinia man has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to his involvement in a 2010 car crash that killed a Hillsboro man. The Highland County Prosecutor alleged to the court that the defendant was racing another car at speeds near 100 mph and, "When they collided, it was like NASCAR."
Mickey Berry pleaded guilty Sept. 12 to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony of the third degree, in Highland County Common Pleas Court. He appeared Wednesday before Judge Rocky Coss for sentencing.
In August, a driver of another car in the crash, Kevin Dehaas, also pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, and was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison, with a lifetime suspension of driving privileges.
As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Dehaas was driving southbound on state Route 138 in a 1996 Saturn on Sept. 17, 2010 when he allegedly attempted to pass a Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Berry, 23, according to a report from the Wilmington Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Henry Stroop, 64, of Lynchburg, was driving northbound on state Route 138 in a 2008 PT Cruiser and was struck head-on by both vehicles, according the Post. Stroop died from injuries sustained in the crash.
Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins requested Berry be sentenced to four years Wednesday, and said that since there was no trial, in either case, the court was unaware of some of the circumstances regarding the crash.
Berry's car, according to Collins, was equipped with an "airbag module" that acted like a black box in an airplane, recording vehicle information in the ten seconds leading up to the crash. Collins said that the module showed acceleration at 100 percent.
"He had the pedal down," Collins said. "At no point did he attempt to slow down."
The incident began, Collins said, when Dehaas pulled out in front of Berry's vehicle. Berry then passed the Dehaas vehicle. Dehaas then attempted to pass the Berry vehicle, but Berry sped up. The cars were moving side by side, taking up both lanes of state Route 138 at a speed of 96 mph when the Dehaas vehicle struck the Berry vehicle.
"Instead of letting (Dehaas) over (Berry) sped up. They were essentially drag racing," Collins said. "When they collided, it was like NASCAR."
The impact caused the Berry vehicle to cross the roadway in front of the Dehaas car, where it collided with the Stroop vehicle. Berry's car proceeded off the left side of the roadway, and the Dehass vehicle struck Stroop's vehicle.
"There was no doubt this was a intentional act of racing," Collins said.
Family members of the victim addressed the court, and spoke directly to Berry, as they had during Dehaas's sentencing.
The victim's wife asked that Berry move from behind his attorney so that she could see him as she spoke, and he turned to face the family.
"Mickey Berry, this was no accident. It was murder with a car," she said. "My husband's name was Henry Franklin Stroop, so you will never forget it. I do not hate you, but I have tried. My God does not allow it."
The victim's wife was wearing a button with her husband's face on it, and she held it out toward Berry and said, "This is the man you killed."
She said that she had to try to explain to her grandchildren why their grandpa had gone to Heaven.
"So did you win or did you lose the race? Surely you lost. You are a widow-maker," she said. "So you kill and you try to get out of it. You have brought shame to your family, to have such a son. Your past has caught up with you. Do you even know the Lord our God? This man you took from us lived for God and for his family. You will pay for your evil Satan ways. Be afraid. Be very afraid. I hope to be in Heaven with Jesus before you are given a chance to kill again. Some people are a blessing and some people are a lesson. Guess which one you are. All because you wanted to have some fun."
Regarding the sentence she said, "You get a few years in prison, my husband gets Heaven and we get life."
Holding up a printed card that she said her husband was carrying on him the day he died, she read, "'The key to Heaven was hung on the cross.' Do you even know what that means? Do you?"
She repeated, "Do you?" until the defendant nodded his head, indicating that he did know.
"Then you know what you did, and you know what your punishment is," she said.
The daughter of the victim also addressed the court, saying that in addition to the loss of her father, she and her brother have had to watch her mother fade as well.
"I am the daughter of the man you killed. Three hundred and seventy-six days ago you killed my dad," she said, as she was fighting back tears. "That you have been able to get up every morning and breathe God's fresh air and hug your loved ones makes me sick. The day you killed my dad you also killed my mom. She is half the person she was because you took the other half of her. She sits in his chair and wraps herself in his blanket, clutching his picture, crying and praying. We will now serve the life sentence that you deserve. Remember when you lay your head down on your filthy pillow in your filthy prison cell that you have yet to face the final judgment. God has the final word."
Berry's attorney Bruce Wallace addressed the court, and then addressed the family, saying that he understood their pay, because he also lost a loved one in a car crash.
"I am sorry for your loss, and I understand your loss," Wallace said. "I know what you're going through. I lost a loved one to a wreck for no reason. I am not going to tell you that it gets better or that you ever forget. I went to a football game at Richmond High School last Friday night and cried the whole way there, because 11 years ago my nephew went to a football game at Richmond High School and died in a car wreck on the way home."
Wallace said, "When Mickey Berry got up that day he had no intention of causing harm to anyone. Time doesn't heal, but life goes on."
Wallace asked the court to take into consideration that Berry had entered a guilty plea, and had no felony criminal record prior to the incident.
"Mr. Berry was in the correct lane, but traveling in an excessive speed," Wallace said. "In entering the plea agreement, the state said it would recommend four years. We ask that the court not impose more than four years. He understands he is likely to be incarcerated today. We ask that you not impose the maximum of five years. We understand that there are victims, but there are also statutory factors."
Berry told the court that he took responsibility for what he did, and he hopes he can earn the forgiveness of the family.
The day of the accident, "I had no intention of getting up and committing the horrible accident that happened," Berry said. "I'm not a bad person. I didn't want for none of this to happen. I understand that he was the most important person in your life. I don't fully understand you all's pain, but my girlfriend was almost killed in that crash. I just intend to take responsibility, and I hope that God and your family will be able to forgive me for what happened."
Coss said that, "This was a great tragedy and it should not have happened. This is the greatest harm a victim can suffer. In the family's eyes it's murder. But it's not, it's aggravated vehicular homicide, and my job is to follow the law and apply the law."
Law requires, Coss said, that he consider all the factors of the case. The Ohio Risk Assessment Tool, which the state of Ohio now requires court systems to utilize in determining the likelihood in which a defendant may reoffend, Coss said that Berry had the lowest score he had seen, meaning that he was unlikely to reoffend.
Coss noted that Dehaas, who was sentenced to the maximum sentence with a lifetime suspension of driving privileges, had a previous criminal history.
"I have to make a decision on what the law requires me to do," Coss said.
Coss sentenced Berry to four years in prison, and suspended his license for 10 years. Berry was given three days of jail time credit, and was remanded to custody.