Posted on 12/19/2011 11:09:56 AM PST by raccoonradio
HAVERHILL (Ma.)-- An allegedly drunk Haverhill dental assistant told police, “I killed somebody. Shut the (expletive) up. This is going to change my whole life,” after crushing a saintly church leader to death with her car early yesterday morning, prosecutors said this morning.
Lisa Leavitt, 37, was ordered held today on $50,000 cash bail after tearfully pleading not guilty to motor vehicle homicide while drunk and negligent operation for causing the death of Karen LaPierre, 63, of Haverhill. LaPierre was a longtime foster mom who had cared for more than 160 kids, collected Christmas presents for 1,000 needy children and ran a church food pantry.
Haverhill District Court judge Patricia Dowling said if Leavitt makes bail she is not to be released without a GPS bracelet and a home device for authorities to keep tabs on whether she’s been drinking.
Assistant Essex District Attorney John DePaulo asked for $100,000 cash bail, telling Dowling that Leavitt twice blew a .18 blood alcohol level — more than twice the legal limit for driving — after her arrest.
DePaul described for the court in grisly detail how LaPierre — who was hit while loading doughnuts into the trunk of her Ford at about 5:20 a.m. Sunday on her way to Mass at Sacred Hearts Parish in Bradford — was only kept alive by the pressure of the two vehicles holding her body together. She was able to communicate with her husband William LaPierre until Leavitt’s Nissan Altima was separated from her Taurus.
“She died almost immediately after the vehicles were pulled apart,” he said.
William LaPierre, 74, did not attend Leavitt’s arraignment, but several of her sobbing family members did, shouting out, “We love you Lisa!” as she was led away in chains.
Leavitt’s distraught uncle, Dan Leavitt, told reporters outside the courthouse as he choked back tears, “We’re all so sorry. No one can imagine going through this.”
DePaulo said Leavitt had been hosting a Christmas party at her own house right before the accident and left before dawn for reasons unknown. Her attorney, William Early, said she was on anxiety medication for seasonal depression and her family is seeking to get her help, including possible hospitalization.
Early described her as a lifelong resident of Haverhill, who has worked for the same dentist for nine years. She has no previous criminal record.
According to the Eagle Tribune, "If convicted, Leavitt faces a minimum mandatory year in jail, according to DePaulo."
Yes they really throw the book at you in Massachusetts. (First offense, still...)
Irony: Leavitt lives on "LaPierre St." Victim's last name is LaPierre. It said Leavitt suffers from seasonal depression--daylight is so short this time of year. Taking meds for that.
And her BAC was twice the legal limit.
>>Leavitt, of 15 LaPierre St., left a Christmas party at 5:15 a.m.
oops, I had left the Author (of article) part blank. It was Laurel J. Sweet
I bet it changed the life of the lady she killed too, but its all about her.
“If convicted, Leavitt faces a minimum mandatory year in jail, according to DePaulo.”
Yes they really throw the book at you in Massachusetts. (First offense, still...)
Maybe she should announce that she intends to run for Teddy Kennedy’s old seat in the Senate.../S
A comment on the Eagle Tribune’s website quotes the following from the Boston Globe’s boston.com:
>>According to Boston.com when she was taken to the police station she said “I don’t
care what happens,Just as long as I don’t lose my house!”
Boston Globe report said she had left a Christmas party at her own home about 5 a.m. (and she headed south into the Bradford section of town and hit LaPierre and their car...LaPierre’s legs were amputated and she died when Lisa Leavitt’s car was pulled away...
Yes they really throw the book at you in Massachusetts. (First offense, still...)
What are the chances the charge will be reduced to something like reckless operation with a fine and maybe a short license suspension to avoid a trial?
yes
Some of the comments from a local paper (Eagle Tribune)
>>Unfortunately it is likely that this will never go to trial. In many cases, the drunk driver’s lawyer will mediate a sentence with the DA that might be as much as four years at the most, then parole and no license for a while. If the punishments were more severe just maybe a drunk may think twice before getting behind the wheel. They should also punish the resource of where she was served...(bar/restaurant owner, host of a party).
>>I completely disagree with that being used as any form of excuse, but I did a quick google search and found a lot of information on the combination of SSRI’s and alcohol- including this blurb from a criminal defense lawyer:
“As a criminal defense attorney, I see hundreds of clients annually who obtain medications from their physician for anxiety, sleep disorders or depression, yet are not warned to consume NO ALCOHOL when taking these medications. The synergistic effects caused by combining ANY amount of alcohol and these drugs can be devastating for the patient who is surprised to find himself or herself in jail for DUI-DWI, or even vehicular homicide. Blackout, seizures or major amnesia episodes are common. Effexor is currently involved with three of my clients, with others using various common SSRIs and benzodiazepines.
>>She will most likely get more than the minimum... but not much more. Massachusetts is much too lenient to it’s drunks on the road.
>>A minimum of a year? She was under the influence of alcohol and took someones life for it...It will be a crime if she gets the minimum sentence.
They need to make killing people with your car as large of a crime as with any other instrument.
If she did it with a screwdriver she’d be getting a huge sentence. Yet a 4000 pound machine, and it’s a year?
Also add a sentence multiplier onto it if the person is drunk. 1 1/2 times if impaired but not legally drunk, double the time in jail if legally drunk.
Drunk drivers should be jailed for attempted murder. Drunk drivers who kill another should be hung. It’s time to stop coddling killers.
I’d be content by treating vehicle manslaughter the same as a killing with a hand weapon.
A guy who kills with a half pound screwdriver or one pound hammer, or two-pound gun, gets a major sentence or death penalty.
Drunk (or distracted) driver or angry spouse who kills with a car, a 4000 pound death machine, gets a slap on the wrist.
Where’s the justice? Make them the same as if they were killed with a hand weapon. This is serious sh1t here, people are DEAD at the hands of someone else. Accidental or not. An accidental firearm discharge that kills someone will put you away for decades.
Absolute truth.
Awful. RIP Mrs. LaPierre. This reminds me of the way Mel Gibson’s wife in the movie “Signs” dies.
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