POCATELLO Two years ago, a truck driver was engaged in a fatal crash that claimed two lives. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Prior to accepting a plea deal, Kenneth Dale Conley had entered a not guilty plea to two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter. The prosecution suggested a retained jurisdiction with an underlying sentence of five years fixed and five years indeterminate in exchange for a guilty plea.
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Rejection of plea agreement
District Judge Javier Gabiola stated during the sentencing that he would not adhere to the agreement, although the arrangement was not legally binding on the court.
Conley was repeatedly questioned by Gabiola about his ability to revoke his guilty plea and request that the matter be tried by jury. David Martinez, Conley’s lawyer, stated that he was sticking to his guilty plea.
When Gabiola sentenced Conley to eight years fixed and twelve years indeterminate, this caused problems. Martinez brought up the matter because he thought the court would uphold the five years fixed and five years indeterminate underlying sentence.
Gabiola used Conley’s behavior on the day of the deadly collision as justification for the sentence. He referenced Conley’s pre-sentence inquiry, which showed that Conley drove the dump truck despite knowing its brakes weren’t working.
“This court is very concerned that you did get into a vehicle that you admitted to, which was not operating properly,” Gabiola stated. This is terrible. It’s horrifying. And your actions and knowledge were the root of all of this.
Martinez said that he and his client were misinformed and that there is no solid evidence linking the brake failure to the collision.
“What happened here today has made me ineffective and rendered my advice to my client moot,” Martinez added. He can pursue a post-conviction on that, and we ll see if this ever returns.
After Gabiola reiterated his stance that he had never accepted a plea deal, Martinez was given ten minutes to speak with Conley about this matter.
Following this, Martinez stated that Conley will accept the sentence because his client believes he won’t live for very long.
Conley was also ordered to pay $2,500 to the victims’ two families and $10,490 in fines.
He stole everything, they deserve to live full on lives,
During the Aug. 8 sentencing, which included Jaren Goering’s mother and the mother of Monique Morale’s younger sister, three victims spoke.
When Stacie Sweetow learned of her son’s passing, she described how it rocked her world.
According to Sweetow, he was more than just my son; he was also my best friend, brother, uncle, and fiancé. There weren’t many people he didn’t like; his heart was that wide. His words and kindness, in my opinion, touched numerous lives.
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Mariah Morales, Monique’s sister, was the sole survivor of the deadly collision and a passenger in the vehicle. While driving to work with Monique and Goering, Mariah described how one occasion impacted her life.
According to Mariah, the noises he made as he drove over us while carrying over 30,000 pounds were cruel.
After the initial crash, she recalled seeking assistance from her sister and witnessing her unresponsive, while Goering suffered severe injuries and felt powerless.
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Mariah stated she battled the guilt of being the only one surviving while her sister and friend perished, after later finding out that both passed away from their wounds.
The defendant stole the fact that they both had a great deal of life left in them. Mariah said that he had stolen their futures. He took everything. He deprived them of the full-on life they deserved.
Next up was Natahsa Pimental, who cited EastIdahoNews.com material that emphasized Conley’s prior actions. Martinez objected to this, but Pimental was permitted to proceed.
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According to Pimental, they were concerned that Conley would kill someone because he had almost caused multiple crashes. It’s made much more difficult today to learn that he got into his truck knowing his brakes weren’t working and that he was speeding in the construction zone.
According to Pimental, she was forced to accept the plea deal, which suggested a rider. Now that she knows Conley will go to jail, she feels that Gabiola made the right choice.
It doesn’t matter that you walked free and pretended that nothing was wrong. “Your decisions killed Jaren and Monique, my oldest daughter,” Pimental remarked.
Attorneys argue
Martinez claimed he objected to the news article Pimental had cited after the victim impact testimonies were presented.
He claimed that Conley had complained to his superiors about the construction trucks and the pressure to finish more quickly.
According to Martinez, this instance exemplifies an accident that was unintentional.
Nevertheless, Martinez claimed that Conley’s client completely understands the loss for the families, which is why Conley consents to uphold his guilty plea even after Gabiola rejected the deal.
Martinez stated that he wants some closure on this issue and believes that it is better for the victims and their families.
Martinez made two suggestions to the court. The first was to put Conley on a rider and then probation, contingent on whether he is safe to return to society.
If not, he was worried about putting a 60-year-old man in jail with a sentence of eight years indeterminate and two years fixed.
Martinez stated, “I don’t know how his health will continue to be maintained, so I don’t know how long he’ll serve.”
When Conley was given the opportunity to speak, he stated that he still thinks about this every day.
I regret that it occurred. Conley apologized deeply, but he stated, “I have to live with that for the rest of my life.” I will always know that I took the lives of two people.
Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson said this case is rare due to the heightened level of care needed to operate a commercial vehicle, given the potential risk of harm it poses. Regulations such as a log book and inspections are therefore necessary to guarantee that situations like these be prevented.
Johnson suggested a five-year fixed and five-year indeterminate sentence because of these factors.
However, Martinez said a log book of problems with the truck involved, which by that logic muddies the waters where it shouldn t.
No amount of regulation will ever stop people from having accidents, Martinez said. It s a tragedy, but to suggest that there s somehow some intermediate standard between intent and negligence is legally unsupportable.
