Category: Goodove in the News

Victim’s family files three lawsuits against motorist in fatal car accident

Post author By Jake
Post date April 13, 2003
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Author: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Three lawsuits have been filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court against a motorist who is accused of being drunk when he ran a red light and killed a 26-year-old father of two in November.

Steven C. Arcese, 50, had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood on Nov. 3, according to recent court testimony in the criminal case against Arcese. His Audi station wagon crashed head-on into a 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier driven by David C. Fisher.

Fisher died early the following morning from his injuries. His children, ages 3 and 6 months, suffered superficial injuries and have recovered.

Fisher was on the way to pick up his wife from her job at Wal-Mart in the couple’s only car when the accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of London Bridge and Dam Neck roads.

Arcese had a blood-alcohol level of 0.23 hours after the accident, police said. The legal limit in Virginia is 0.08.

The lawsuits were filed on behalf of Fisher’s wife, Mandi Rose Fisher, and the children.

One of the lawsuits was filed in February. The other two were filed Monday.

The lawsuits allege that Arcese was drunk and speeding, failed to keep a proper outlook, failed to keep his vehicle under proper control and did not obey traffic signals.

Each of the lawsuits asks for compensatory damages of $5 million and punitive damages of $5 million.

Michael L. Goodove, the attorney who filed the suits, said the children were traumatized by the accident.

Arcese is being held without bond in the Virginia Beach city jail. He is scheduled to stand trial April 23 on charges of aggravated involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and refusal to take a blood-alcohol test.

The maximum penalty for aggravated involuntary manslaughter is 20 years.

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

Caption:
Lawsuits filed by the family of David C. Fisher, who
died after a car ran into his, seek a total of $30 million in
punitive and compensatory damages.

Tags D.U.I., Drunk, Drunk Driver, Drunk Driving, Automobile Crash, car crash, MADD, Michael Goodove, Goodove in the News, manslaughter

Archive 2003 STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot

DRIVER IN CRASH FIGHTS OFFICIALS ON HOW BLOOD WAS OBTAINED

Post author By Jake
Post date April 3, 2003
No Comments on DRIVER IN CRASH FIGHTS OFFICIALS ON HOW BLOOD WAS OBTAINED

Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA)

Author: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

The man charged in a November collision that claimed the life of a father of two young children will either plead guilty or face trial with evidence that he had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood that night.

Circuit Judge Thomas S. Shadrick denied a motion Wednesday to throw out evidence that 50-year-old Steven V. Arcese had a blood-alcohol level of 0.23 hours after the Nov. 3 accident.

The legal limit for driving in Virginia is 0.08.

Police said that Arcese, driving a 2002 Audi station wagon, ran a red light at the intersection of London Bridge Road and Dam Neck Road, and collided with a vehicle driven by David Fisher, 26, of Virginia Beach.

Fisher was killed. His children, 3-year-old James and 6-month-old Amber, were in child-restraint seats in the back of their 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon and were not injured.

Arcese is charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and refusal to take a blood-alcohol test. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted during a trial scheduled for April 23.

On Wednesday, Arcese’s lawyers, Moody E. “Sonny” Stallings and Mark T. Del Duca, argued that Arcese’s constitutional guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure was violated when police obtained Arcese’s blood test results from Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, where he was taken for treatment.

After the accident, Arcese refused a breath test, Stallings said. Arcese also told police twice he would not allow them to draw blood to determine his blood-alcohol level.

At that point, Stallings said, police needed a search warrant before taking Arcese’s blood.

Instead, Stallings said, police “came in the back door” to obtain Arcese’s blood test results by subpoena from the hospital.

Arcese, who is being held without bond in the Virginia Beach City Jail pending trial, testified Wednesday that he had been drinking before the accident.

“I had a beer, a little bit of wine with dinner and a glass of wine after dinner,” Arcese said.

A nurse testified that she took Arcese’s blood as part of the hospital’s routine procedure prior to treatment.

“I told him I was not drawing blood for the police,” said Heather L. Mcinyk, an emergency room nurse at the hospital.

Mcinyk testified that she told Arcese that “if the police wanted his results, they would have to subpoena his results.”

That’s what police did, testified Beach Officer Gary Kerfoot.

Kerfoot said he was trying to get the blood because “I was going to use it for prosecution.”

Although Stallings maintained that the police action was illegal, he acknowledged that state law allows authorities to obtain blood-alcohol test results from suspects during the regular course of providing emergency medical treatment.

Mike Goodove, president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said after the hearing that the law streamlines the prosecution of people who are involved in drunken-driving accidents but refuse to take breath tests. MADD supported its passage, he said.

After the hearing, Stallings said he raised the constitutional issue, in part, to preserve it for appeal after trial. He said Arcese may plead guilty to avoid a jury trial, but could appeal the conviction if he does so.

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

Tags bac, .08 Lawyer, MADD, Goodove in the News, Michael Goodove, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Refuse Blood Alcohol Tests, D.U.I., Drunk Driving

STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot Archive 2003

BEACH NIGHTCLUB SUED OVER WRECK THAT KILLED 4 SUIT : PEABODY’S RESPONSIBLE FOR DRUNKEN DRIVER

Post author By Jake
Post date March 7, 2003
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Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA)

Author: JON FRANK THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Three lawsuits stemming from a deadly highway collision in 2001 were filed Thursday against Peabody’s, a popular Oceanfront nightclub where the driver responsible for the wreck had been drinking.

Enrique Lopez, a 21-year-old sailor serving aboard the carrier George Washington, was driving his Ford Mustang the wrong way on Interstate 264 on May 11, 2001, when he slammed into another vehicle that was traveling in the opposite direction.

Three women in the other car – including 19-year-old Debra Van Sickle, an expectant mother – were killed. Lopez also died.

The lawsuits seek a total of $36.05 million in damages and attempt to hold Peabody’s responsible for contributing to the accident.

Andrew M. Sacks, the Norfolk lawyer who filed the lawsuits in Virginia Beach Circuit Court, said during a news conference Thursday that Peabody’s employees threw Lopez out of the club because he was extremely drunk and had become disorderly.

The lawsuits maintain that once employees “took control” of Lopez, Sacks said, they should have turned him over to authorities.

“The crux of this is that once they observed him, they took immediate steps,” Sacks said. “But they failed to complete that duty.”

Sacks said the club took the attitude that “as long as he is not a problem to us, we don’t care what he does.”

Virginia is one of the few states without “Dram Shop” legislation, which holds bars and restaurants responsible for serving alcohol to customers who then commit crimes or cause accidents. The absence of such legislation shields many businesses in Virginia’s tourism and restaurant industries from lawsuits.

Michael L. Goodove, a Norfolk lawyer who is president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said at Thursday’s news conference that the lobby representing the state’s restaurants and bars has successfully fought to keep “dram shop” legislation from getting out of committees in Richmond.

He said 44 states have such laws and that Sacks’ suits address the vacuum by creating for bars an area of “special responsibility that is a long time in coming.”

The lawsuits do not allege that Peabody’s was negligent in serving Lopez, Sacks said. Instead, they argue that Peabody’s failed to protect the public from “carnage” caused by someone the club took control of and then released “into the stream of humanity.”

Lopez had a blood-alcohol level of 0.27 at the time of the accident, well above Virginia’s legal limit of 0.08, according to police. He also is named in the lawsuits as a defendant.

Richard H. Doummar, the Virginia Beach lawyer who represents the nightclub, said Thursday that although the situation was tragic, “Peabody’s did everything they could as required by the law to do the right thing.”

Peabody’s is at 21st Street and Pacific Avenue. Doummar said the nightclub already has been cleared by the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

“It is just a tough situation dealing with someone who is intoxicated,” Doummar said.

Two of the lawsuits were filed on behalf of 24-year-old Earl A. Sanders IV.

Sanders’ mother, Shirley J. Vinson, 44, was killed in the accident, as was his fiancee, 30-year-old Beverley S. Carter.

A suit in Vinson’s name asks for $15.35 million. The one for Carter asks for $5.35 million.

The third suit, which also asks for $15.35 million, was filed on behalf of Henry Sanders, who was injured in the crash. Sanders now lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and still suffers from his injuries, Sacks said.

Van Sickle’s survivors are represented by Virginia Beach attorney William R. “Buster” O’Brien, who said he filed a suit against Lopez last year. He did not name Peabody’s as a defendant.

Van Sickle was on the way to the hospital at the time of the accident to possibly deliver her baby.

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

Caption:
Color Photo
Earl A. Sanders IV, foreground, fields reporters’ questions as his
attorney, Andrew Sacks, listens in the lawyer’s Norfolk office
during a news conference Thursday. Photos
MORT FRYMAN/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT FILE PHOTO
Debra Van Sickle, Shirley J. Vinson and Beverley S. Carter were
killed when the car they were riding in, above, was struck by a
Mustang driven by Enrique Lopez in May 2001. Lopez also died.
Enrique Lopez, a sailor serving on the carrier George Washington,
was killed in May 2001.

Tags Fatal Crash, MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Goodove in the News, Drunk Driving, Automobile Crash, DWI, Virginia Beach, alcohol, Bar, Sailor

Archive 2003 STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR – THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Post author By Jake
Post date January 29, 2003
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Virginian-Pilot, The (Norfolk, VA)

In DUI cases, MADD is

there when you need it

The Jan. 20 letter, “System is watering down drunken-driving cases,” asks: “Where is MADD on this issue?”

When I was interviewed for TV about the drunken driver who killed my daughter, the man whose latest DUI conviction was treated as a first offense, I mentioned MADD to both TV stations. The focus of what happened in his case was poor record-keeping by law enforcers.

It’s important for people to know that MADD was walking beside me all the way. Marilyn Jackson, the MADD advocate on the Peninsula, was extremely helpful in getting me information from the deputy commonwealth’s attorney. Mike Goodove, president of Southside MADD, told me where and how to begin to pursue my “find.” He was also in court with us during Shawn Teehan’s trial on Jan. 6, and he was with us when Teehan was sentenced in September 1997.

It’s important to me for the public to know that MADD is there when you need it. The members quietly stay with you and lend support in ways people wouldn’t understand unless they personally experienced a death by a drunken driver. I owe Marilyn and Mike. The only way I know to repay them is to get involved when the next victim of a drunken driver needs support, and I plan to do just that.

Linda Kaye Walsh

Virginia Beach

More liberal (tax) lies

and misconceptions

I was not surprised to read the Jan. 18 letters from Michael McGowan and Terry Flynn arguing against the tax cuts. Their arguments are the same mantra always used by the liberal left.

First, Mr. McGowan expects those who have wealth to be their “brother’s keeper.” He states that the tax system is not meant to be fair; it is meant to be just.

How can something be both unfair and just? If the rich are supposed to pay their “fair share,” then why does he want them to pay a higher percentage of the taxes than he does? Where in the Constitution is there a provision for seizing money from one group of people to pay the burdens of another?

As to Mr. Flynn’s argument that the tax cut is exploding the deficit and taking from Social Security: Stop government spending. The Bush administration came up with several ways to cut the budget, but the Democrats opposed them.

His comment about the Republicans causing class warfare is pure liberal dogma. Bush is simply allowing people to keep more of the money they’ve earned. The last Democrat to understand this was John Kennedy. The Democrats could use another leader like him.

Kayla Midgette

Chesapeake

Vive le Rumsfeld

Three cheers to Don Rumsfeld for his blunt remarks about France and Germany (front page, Jan. 24). I am tired of the constant carping by those living off distant memories of faded glory.

Someone needs to send the French a history book to remind them that they’ve been essentially irrelevant on the world stage since 1815.

Jerry Post

Virginia Beach

Clarence Thomas accusers

now champion Judge Askew

Gosh, you just gotta love the deja vu surrounding the case of Judge Askew. Sen. Louise Lucas calls this a “lynching.” Hmmmm, now where have I heard or read those words before? Oh yeah, in a case that involved another black judge as well. Yes, none other than the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.

Funny, isn’t it? The very same types (Democrats) who accused Thomas of similar (actually, worse) behavior are now the ones defending Judge Askew. I marvel at their hypocrisy.

Thomas was pronounced the epitome of evil because he mentioned the name of a (male) porno actor to Saint Anita Hill. But in Judge Askew’s case, we have a cash settlement involved, paid to Judge Askew’s accuser. Now why would a settlement be made if there wasn’t merit to the charges? It just doesn’t add up. Ask Vance Wilkins about that.

Sexual harrassment is supposed to be against the law. Are these laws intended only for heterosexuals? Are they intended only for those in this land who are not black? No, they are supposed to apply to everybody, judges included.

So let’s stop the nonsense that she’s being persecuted because of her race and/or preferences.

Doug Pauly

Chesapeake

Not a political decision

How can state Sen. Louise Lucas complain that “Trent Lott disease has crossed the Potomac” while organizations like the United Negro College Fund and Miss Black America exist?

The removal of Newport News Circuit Judge Verbena Askew (front page, Jan. 23) was based on performance, not politics. If Lucas thinks it was politics, maybe more blacks should become Republicans to help with the balance of power.

I would hate to think that all of America has become a one-way street.

George J. McCullough

Virginia Beach

Yo! Studying hip-hop

is relevant, not hogwash

Re Michelle Malkin’s column “Hip-hop hogwash in the schools” (op-ed, Jan. 17):

Hip-hop is a form of art/talent, so to refer it to as “hogwash” is a mockery of the fine arts we enjoy today. Ms. Malkin may have immersed herself in the creative genius of Shakespeare, Melville and Hawthorne, but plenty of people cannot because of their skin color. Who should their heroes be?

The new generation is pushing envelopes. If Fat Albert can talk about AIDS, racism and drug use, then, yes, he’s an equal to Prince Hamlet. Today’s issues are the equal of yesterday’s philosophies.

If the late Tupac and Biggie Smalls or any other hip-hop/rap artist did a song about the Middle Passage, how many teachers are going to understand? They don’t expose that much African-American history in their American history classes.

Trying to work out issues is positive. If it’s in the street tongue, does that make it wrong? When you break down the lyrics, you can find the meaning behind it. That’s realism, not a false art of “feelin’ it” and “keepin’ it real.”

Thaddeus T. Wright

Virginia Beach

Tags DUI, Goodove in the News, MADD, Michael Goodove, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Drunken Driving

STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot Archive 2002

MAN CHARGED IN DEATH OF 26-YEAR-OLD FATHER DENIED BOND

Post author By Jake
Post date November 16, 2002
No Comments on MAN CHARGED IN DEATH OF 26-YEAR-OLD FATHER DENIED BOND

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.

Tags Refuse Blood Alcohol Tests, Goodove in the News, Fatal Crash, MADD, Michael Goodove, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

STS&G News Goodove in the News Virginian-Pilot Archive 2002

HANDLING OF TRAFFIC FATALITY ANGERS MADD LEADER

Post author By Jake
Post date April 6, 2002
No Comments on HANDLING OF TRAFFIC FATALITY ANGERS MADD LEADER