Archive 2002 Archives - Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz, and Goodove

Author: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

The man who police said ran a red light while driving drunk and killed a man was denied bond Friday and returned to custody.

Steven V. Arcese, 50, has been in the Virginia Beach city jail since Nov. 8, when police charged him with aggravated involuntary manslaughter in the death of David Fisher.

Fisher, 26, and his children, 3-year-old James and 6-month-old Amber, were heading to pick up Fisher’s wife on Nov. 3 when their car was struck by a sport-utility vehicle southbound on London Bridge Road that failed to stop for a traffic light at the intersection of Dam Neck Road. Neither of the children was seriously hurt.

Arcese was charged with DUI and refusing to take a blood alcohol test that night. Five days later, he was charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter.

On Friday, General District Court Judge Virginia L. Cochran rejected arguments by Arcese’s attorney, Mark T. Del Duca, that Arcese be allowed the opportunity to post a bond. Del Duca said he would appeal the decision to Circuit Court, where a hearing is likely next week.

The victim’s father and Mike L. Goodove, president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, applauded Cochran’s decision.

“He needs to stay where he is,” Jim Fisher said.

“Arcese’s previous record, coupled with his actions leading up to the death of Mr. Fisher, strongly support the decision of Judge Cochran,” Goodove said.

Arcese was charged with DUI and convicted of reckless driving in 1988. He was convicted of DUI in 1994. He has other non-driving convictions from the 1980s.

Arcese had attended a wine tasting before the crash, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutor Susan Goldsticker, Arcese’s blood-alcohol level after the accident was estimated to be two to three times the legal limit of 0.08.

Arcese’s blood-alcohol level was tested at a hospital where he was taken for treatment after the accident.

Reach Jon Frank at 446-2277 or jfrank(AT)pilotonline.com

Caption:
PHOTO
Steven V. Arcese, 50, is charged with aggravated manslaughter and
drunken driving.

–Forwarded Message Attachment–
Subject: Norfolk Virginian Pilot Document
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 2009 18:46:28 -0400
From: newslibrary@newsbank.com
To: mgoodove@rstsg.com

Norfolk Virginian-Pilot

Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA)

April 6, 2002

HANDLING OF TRAFFIC FATALITY ANGERS MADD LEADER

Author: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Edition: FINAL
Section: LOCAL
Page: B3
Dateline: VIRGINIA BEACH

Estimated printed pages: 2

Article Text:

The local president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving wants the city’s chief prosecutor to get involved in an involuntary manslaughter case involving a teen-ager charged this week.

Sara J. Becker, 18, was charged Sunday in connection with the death of a 20-year-old Virginia Beach man at the Oceanfront.

Mike Goodove, president of the Southside MADD, criticized the decision by Magistrate B.B. Cowell to set Becker free on a $2,500 personal recognizance bond while she awaits trial.

“This is shocking in a manslaughter case,” Goodove said. “It sends an inappropriate message to the community.”

Goodove called for Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey L. Bryant III to ask for a hearing in front of a judge to reconsider the bond.

Becker, a college student who lives in Richmond, was driving a 2002 Honda Civic early Sunday morning on Baltic Avenue near 27th Street when she struck a pedestrian, police said.

She was charged with involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence and faces up to 11 years in prison.

The pedestrian, Joshua A. Davis, of the 500 block of Fountain Lake Drive, was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in Becker’s automobile suffered minor injuries.

Becker was not injured.

Her blood-alcohol level was .10, according to police. The legal limit in Virginia is .08.

Goodove said the court must determine whether Becker has an alcohol problem that would pose a threat. If a judge examines the case, Goodove said, more time could be spent investigating the woman’s background.

“It would be good to have another set of eyes look at her,” he said.

Bryant said on Friday that he had no specific information about the case. But he promised to “look into it.”

Becker’s bond was handled like all others involving a suspect charged by warrant and taken before a magistrate, Bryant said. In such cases, he explained, prosecutors aren’t involved.

The Virginia Beach magistrate’s office works under the chief judge of the Circuit Court, Thomas S. Shadrick.

Decisions about bonds – whether issued by a magistrate or a judge – are made after determining whether the person poses a public safety threat or a flight risk and whether the case is strong, Bryant said.

Virginia Beach Chief Magistrate Robert S. Hill Jr. could not be reached for comment Friday.