one way or the other, we can pray for him and those involved.
After delays, jury convicts ex-coach in one traffic death, exonerates him in second
By Linda Metz, Staff writerFriday was unusual from start to finish in the trial for Roy M. Jacobs II, former first-base coach for the Washington Wild Things, charged in connection with a 2005 crash that killed two people.
By day's end, Jacobs had been found guilty of a felony in the death of one of the men, which carries a substantial prison term.
A missing juror delayed the start of the second day of deliberations. The male juror, who had sat through the trial and had deliberated for nearly seven hours Thursday before being allowed to go home for the night, failed to appear Friday at the Washington County Courthouse.
Deliberations were put on hold for two hours as court officials attempted to contact the juror. The juror eventually was reached but said he was too ill to continue.
Subsequently, Judge Janet Moschetta Bell was left to decide whether deliberations would continue with only 11 jurors. Under Pennsylvania law, a jury with as few as six members may be permitted to continue to deliberate on a case as long as both the prosecution and defense agree to the stipulation.
Both Assistant District Attorney Michael Lucas and Jacobs' attorney Michael DeRiso had no opposition.
At 11:30 a.m., the jurors continued their deliberations into whether Jacobs, 29, of Louisville, Ohio, was guilty of being intoxicated while driving a vehicle that crashed into another vehicle on Interstate 70 in Canton Township on Dec. 2, 2005. The crash resulted in the death of Robert Bernardini, who was in the vehicle with Jacobs, and another motorist, Richard Morris, 51, of Canonsburg.
Jacobs and Bernardini, who served as a host for the baseball team, had attended a Christmas party at the Rhythm House in Bridgeville and then went to Auggie's Roadhouse in North Strabane Township. Jacobs had stayed with Bernardini from May to September 2005.
Jacobs was arrested nearly two years after the crash and charged with two counts each of driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle while DUI and homicide by vehicle. Police said his blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit.
At 2:30 p.m., it was announced that the jury had reached a verdict. But the verdict was not read until an hour and a half later because Jacobs, who had been staying at a local motel during the trial, was stuck on Chestnut Street because of an accident that occurred during heavy snowfall.
Finally, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to get Jacobs and return him to the courthouse. Once there, Jacobs was rushed to the second-floor courtroom, with the jury soon being ushered in to announce its decision.
As complicated as the day's events had been, so was the verdict from the jury, which found Jacobs guilty of DUI with a BAC in the range of 0.1 percent to 0.159 percent, and guilty of homicide by vehicle in regard to Morris' death. Jacobs was found not guilty of another DUI count, the two counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI and homicide by vehicle relating to Bernardini.
"I don't understand the verdict; I'm as perplexed as you are," said DeRiso following the reading of the verdict. "You don't see a verdict like this too often."
He added, "Clearly, the jury was working on this, but I'm unclear how they came to this conclusion."
After meeting with some of the jurors, Lucas said the panel "concluded he was driving, he was drinking, and he caused the death of Mr. Morris." But, Lucas explained, they found him not guilty in regard to Bernardini because Bernardini, who was also drinking, got into the vehicle with Jacobs at the wheel.
"It was a very tough case," Lucas said. "And I commend the jury for their hard work."
Bernardini's children, Mindi and Justin, said they were pleased with the verdict because it finally cleared their father's name and proved he wasn't driving the vehicle.
"I have nothing against Roy, and he knows that," said Justin Bernardini. "But, it's time to man up and go to jail."
Deputies took Jacobs from the courthouse to the county jail, as ordered by Moschetta Bell, who also found Jacobs guilty of four summary charges that did not come before the jury.
Sentencing will be held within 90 days following the completion of a presentence investigation report.
The charge of homicide by vehicle carries a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 to 7 years. The homicide by vehicle while DUI charge, of which Jacobs was not convicted, carries a mandatory sentence of 3 to 6 years in prison.
Copyright Observer Publishing Co.
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