TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Driver Found Guilty Of Homicide But Not Murder

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: October 4, 2007

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A man was cleared of murder but convicted of reckless homicide Wednesday for the death of a man who was dragged several blocks by a car and flung against a utility wire.

Thomas Sewastynowicz, 50, faces up to five years in prison for causing the death of Anthony Graham in March 2006. Jurors recommended the maximum sentence, though the judge could lower it at sentencing.

Graham's father, Toney Graham, stormed out of the courtroom after the verdict was read. Outside, he said the jury 'let a man walk. Because so far as I'm concerned, he was found innocent.'

The defense argued that Graham was trying to rob Sewastynowicz and he drove away in self-defense.

Prosecutors said the defendant was a lifelong addict trying to obtain drugs, and that there was no evidence he was being robbed.

Graham died after his body struck a support wire on a utility pole when the car dragging him screeched to a stop. Sewastynowicz left the scene but went to police the next morning, saying he didn't know that Graham had been killed.

The case caught the attention of civil rights groups when Sewastynowicz, who is white, was let out of jail while awaiting trial. Graham was black.

The jury deliberated about five hours Tuesday, then briefly met Wednesday morning before returning with the decision.

Sewastynowicz, a recovering drug addict who was living in a halfway house the night of the dragging, told jurors after their verdict but before their sentencing recommendation that he still agonizes over Graham's death.

'Having to live with this, this has taken a toll,' he said. 'I still feel terrible today.'

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT