Teen sentenced to 9 months in traffic crash that killed sheriff's captain

BROOKSVILLE The teenager charged in the traffic death of a sheriff's captain last year will serve nine months in jail and two years of house arrest.

Andrew Morris, 18, of Weeki Wachee, was found guilty of vehicular homicide and grand theft following the Feb. 19 traffic death of Capt. Scott Bierwiler.

Prosecutor Pete Magrino and defense attorney Robert Whittel agreed to the deal Wednesday. Magrino had made public comments in recent weeks that he was expecting the case to be concluded prior to the Dec. 13 trial date.

"The Bierwiler family, to their credit, has shown a tremendous amount of compassion ... and that's why it was resolved in the fashion that it was," Magrino said.

Morris was accused of taking his parents' SUV without permission the morning of the accident.

While traveling along Powell Road near the Suncoast Parkway overpass, Morris crossed the center lane and struck Bierwiler's sedan at a high rate of speed.

Following his jail sentence and house arrest, Morris also will serve four years probation, a court spokeswoman said.

Whittel said Morris has plans to attend Pasco-Hernando Community College after he gets out of jail. Once he is done with his house arrest, he hopes to attend a four-year university.

"It was a tough case," said Whittel.

He said he had hoped to take it to trial because he was confident in an acquittal, but he understood Morris' decision to avoid prison and have a chance to continue his life without a criminal record.

"Now he can control his own destiny," said Whittel.

After Morris serves his probation and if he doesn't have any further run-ins with the law, his convictions would be erased, his attorney said.

Morris was 16 and a junior at Nature Coast Technical High School when the crash occurred.

The 2002 Mitsubishi Montero he was driving that morning belonged to his mother. When she discovered it missing, she called her husband who promptly called 911. The crash took place moments later, according to reports.

Because he took his mother's car without permission, Morris was charged with grand theft.

The fact Morris was driving a stolen car when the fatal accident occurred led to the original charge of third-degree murder, authorities said.

As part of his plea agreement, the murder charge was amended to vehicular homicide, which is defined as a traffic-related death as a result of reckless driving.

Bierwiler was a 22-year veteran of the sheriff's office. He had a wife and three children.

The Bierwiler family has pursued a civil case against Morris' insurance company claiming it did not fully comply with its policy agreement, according to attorneys familiar with the case.

A Hernando County judge ruled in favor of the defendant, but the case is currently on appeal, said Whittel.

If the appellate court rules in favor of the plaintiff, the insurance company would face unlimited liability. In other words, it would have to pay an exorbitant amount in damages.

A message forwarded to the Bierwiler family through the sheriff's office was not returned Wednesday.