New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog
A New Jersey court has sentenced a Glassboro, NJ, man to seven years in prison for a 2008 drunk driving accident that caused the death of his friend. Arthur L. Anwar Jr., 53, pled guilty to vehicular homicide last Friday for the fatal DWI traffic accident in Monroe Township last December 21. The Superior Court judge handed down the sentence as recommended by the assistant Gloucester County prosecutor for the second-degree offense of causing a death while driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to earlier reports, the seven-year jail term was offered in exchange for a guilty plea. As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer and former municipal prosecutor myself, I have vast experience with cases just like this one. In this instance, if the defendant had held out for a jury trial, he could have received a maximum of 10 years for the death of his friend, 24-year-old Arthur L. Davis, also from Glassboro. The defense’s case was complicated by alleged evidence of cocaine found on the suspect, though no drug DUI charges were actually levied.
According to police reports, the deadly accident happened in the early morning hours a few days before Christmas. Leaving from a bar in Glassboro, Anwar was driving his 1997 Mazda, with Davis in the front passenger seat, when the car crashed into the back of a dump truck on Glassboro Road in Monroe Township. Davis died in the hospital from multiple injuries not long after the collision. Anwar had admitted to being the driver of the vehicle and when police measured his blood alcohol content (BAC) they foudn it to be an incredible 0.205 — two and one-half times greater than the legal limit in New Jersey.
This was a very tough case to defend, since the defendant’s BAC was so very high and the crash resulted in a fatality — the drugs, while not officially part of the charges, could have made things worse for the defendant in a jury trial. This is a perfect example of why we always recommend that anyone arrested for driving while intoxicated, drug DUI or breath test refusal retain the services of a New Jersey DWI Attorney.
Glassboro man gets 7 years in 2008 drunk-driving death of his passenger, NJ.com, June 26, 2009
No cut in bail for DWI suspect, NJ.com, April 18, 2009