Jury convicts racers of manslaughter, acquits them of murder

[TexasStooge]

(Court TV) — Rejecting murder charges sought by the prosecution, a San Diego jury convicted a pair of drag racers Monday of manslaughter for causing a collision that killed two teenagers.

Lawrence Calhoun smiled and his co-defendant George Waller Jr. closed his eyes and sighed deeply after the court clerk pronounced "not guilty" to murder counts that could have sent the men to prison for 30 years.

The conviction on gross vehicular manslaughter means Waller, 32, faces about seven years in prison and Calhoun, who was not directly involved in the crash, but fled the scene, faces about 12 years in prison.

The panel of seven women and five men deliberated about 11 hours over three days before reaching their verdict. The pair were also convicted of two counts each of reckless driving with bodily injury.

The men were the first racers to be tried for murder in San Diego, which in recent years has suffered from an epidemic of the illegal competitions on its public streets.

Waller and Calhoun were racing along Imperial Avenue, a major city artery, at about 87 miles per hour just after sunset last Oct. 6 when 19-year-old college student Shanna Jump attempted a left hand turn in front of the speeding autos. Waller's car did not have its headlights on, and it is unclear whether Jump simply did not see the racers or did not expect their speed. Waller's souped-up Plymouth Barracuda barreled into Jump's Geo Storm, almost ripping the small car in two. Jump and her boyfriend, Brian Hanson, 19, were killed and Hanson's brother, Michael, 17, suffered severe brain damage.

A passenger in Waller's car, Jason Moore, also was injured.

The men are to be sentenced in July.

The deaths were among 14 last year caused by drag racing in San Diego County, and prosecutors decided to charge Waller, a school janitor, and Calhoun, an installer for a heating and air conditioning company, with second-degree murder under the legal theory of implied malice.

Under that theory, the prosecution did not have to prove the men intended to kill Jump and Hanson, but it did have to convince jurors that Waller and Calhoun appreciated the deadly danger racing posed and ignored that risk when they got behind the wheel and revved their engines.

Much of the trial focused on the knowledge the men had — or didn't have — about street racing fatalities. Waller and Calhoun both took the witness stand and insisted they were totally unaware that what they termed their hobby was deadly.

"My vehicle was in great shape. I was a good driver and I had handled a car at that speed before," Waller testified.

Both men had attended legal community races designed to lure muscle car enthusiasts away from the streets, but told jurors the events did not educate them about the dangers.

The panel struggled with the legal distinction between manslaughter and murder, sending six notes to Judge David Danielsen during the course of its deliberations. Jury forewoman Christina Phillips told Court TV that one female juror wanted to convict the men of second-degree murder, but after often emotional deliberations she agreed to the manslaughter charge.

"It was very emotionally difficult to stand alone," said Philllips, who noted that she had her own questions about the gross vehicular manslaughter counts, but was finally won over by other jurors after careful discussions.

Debbie Hanson, the mother of Brian and Michael, said murder was the proper verdict, but "I accept the jury's decision. I know they had a lot of hard decision to make."

Michael Hanson is still in a rehab hospital being treated for his injuries. He cannot speak or feed himself and was told for the first time during the trial about his brother's death.

"I believe this trial is going to be a landmark in that these street racers aren't going to be able to use ignorance as an excuse for their actions," Debbie Hanson said.