Morning Sentinel
Man to stay free for manslaughter appeal
By ALAN CROWELL
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 12/06/2007

SKOWHEGAN -- A Superior Court justice ruled Wednesday that a Pittsfield man found guilty in July of manslaughter and operating under the influence may remain out of jail pending his appeal.

Joshua Johnson, 31, was sentenced in July to eight years in prison with all but 18 months suspended for causing the death of a friend during a drunken driving accident.

Johnson was driving east on U.S. Route 2 on Nov. 10 of 2005 when he passed a car and lost control of his vehicle, crashing into a utility pole. His passenger, Robert Tardiff, 32, was killed in the crash.

The Pittsfield man's blood alcohol level was .09 percent, close to the legal limit of .08, but a second sample of Johnson's blood was destroyed by the state Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory before Johnson's attorney was able to have it tested by an independent laboratory.

Johnson's then-attorney, Paul Sumberg, argued the destruction of the second blood sample denied his client potentially exculpatory evidence -- in other words, evidence that could prove his innocence.

The destruction of the blood sample was ruled inadvertent at Johnson's trial -- a chemist from the state laboratory said blood samples are routinely destroyed once they have been in storage for at least six months and after the container or containers holding the old samples are full.

Justice Joseph Jabar said Wednesday, however, that while the loss of the blood sample was inadvertent, it does represent legitimate grounds for an appeal.

Jabar ruled that Johnson may remain out on bail pending his appeal.

Janet Mills, who is now representing Johnson, said her client lives with his parents, works in the woods and is taking classes online. She said he does not represent a danger to the community and is not a flight risk.

Assistant District Attorney James Mitchell, however, said that Johnson did have a criminal history and did have a history of violating his bail conditions -- in one case having contact with a woman against the conditions of his release. Mills said the woman had called her client.

Outside the courtroom, Kathy Johnson, Joshua's mother, said she was thankful for the judge's decision.

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previous page | next page1-10 of 13 comments:

Dawn of Augusta, ME
Dec 7, 2007 4:51 AM
0-Tolerance puts on a pretense of working in law enforcement but his/her first comment regarding guilt or innocence leaves me questioning the validity of that. Not exactly honorable to make such statements against due process is it?
report abuse
Scott of Farmingdale, ME
Dec 7, 2007 12:14 AM
Mandy of Rumford, ME:

As you yourself said, "Historically"...
With that said, History most often learns from it's mistake(s).
Exactly what defined this individual as having a criminal history (key word= history), as the district attorney put it?
Some misdemeanor(s) years ago? Details were not mentioned other than a girlfriend contacting him while he was on bail, and therefore violating his bail conditions.
Who cares anyway if it isn't directly relevant to this case, such as a previous OUI conviction(s) displaying a direct pattern.
Apparently, the judge saw the 'criminal history' for what it amounted to, as I am sure he had all of the information before him. report abuse
reader of Portland-Boston, ME
Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM
The residents,the court members,the lawyers..the entire whole Somerset County is like one big colony of criminal-loving people. Maine should just put up a giant wall around the entire county and give everyone inside 50-70 years.report abuse
taxpayer of vassalboro, ME
Dec 6, 2007 11:48 PM
He was so happy to be out on bail he went out for a drink!report abuse
nikonwilly of Portland, ME
Dec 6, 2007 4:49 PM
I thought you could be arrested with a BAC well below the limit, it just placed the burden of proof upon the arresting officer/court rather than the breathalyzer as proof. report abuse
Mandy of Rumford, ME
Dec 6, 2007 1:39 PM
If this man has a history of violating bail in the past, why is he being given the benefit of the doubt? I hope he will live up to his responsibility but historically he has not. Seems to me he is a risk. I think that he doesn't hold the law in high regard and he makes poor decisions (hence driving after drinking.) As far as the blood sample being discarded, are the results going to change? Was it held in the correct chain of custody? They had the results from a state lab I am not sure that re-running the test after so long would be accurate anyway? report abuse
0-Tolerance of Central Maine, ME
Dec 6, 2007 11:10 AM
reader of Portland-Boston, ME,
for once, i agree w/ you. i have to admit, the d.a.'s that i deal w/ when i'm in court are good.report abuse
reader of Portland-Boston, ME
Dec 6, 2007 11:09 AM
How about Skowhagen and the entire Slumerset county with its criminal and drunk -friendly court system just secede out of Maine?? report abuse
0-Tolerance of Central Maine, ME
Dec 6, 2007 11:00 AM
That's right, he's not a criminal, he was only convicted of a Class E misdemeanor , and now someone is dead. His BAC was .09, we can arrest an operator at .07 for an OUI, even though the limit is .08.report abuse
0-Tolerance of Central Maine, ME
Dec 6, 2007 10:57 AM
Just-curious of Southern Maine, ME,
Not the whole constitution, but i'm sure you have. Until you work the job as I do, keep quiet. you don't see the thing i do on a daily basis. I see to many criminals go. And kid/grown up, big deal if I called him a kid.report abuse

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