By Tim Mccahill, The Associated Press
White River Junction, Vt. (AP) -- Almost one year to the day after Eric Daley’s car hit and killed state police Sgt. Michael Johnson, Daley pleaded guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Daley, of Lebanon, N.H., also pleaded guilty to six other charges, including several drug possession charges, and could face up to 33 years in prison and a maximum fine of $28,000 under the terms of a plea agreement.
Last June he pleaded innocent to charges of grossly negligent operation with death resulting, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and possession of cocaine and marijuana. Additional drug charges and a second-murder charge for killing Johnson during a chase of Interstate 91 were added in November; Daley also pleaded innocent to those.
Sentencing is scheduled for September.
Daley, his hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a checkered shirt, entered the courtroom Monday with his hands and feet shackled. During the hour-long hearing he spoke only in addressing Judge Mary Miles Teachout, replying to her questions about the terms of the plea agreement with barely audible answers of “Yes” or “No.”
Windsor County State’s Attorney Robert Sand outlined the plea deal in the first minutes of the hearing; Daley’s lawyer, Matthew Harnett of Rutland, said he had no further comment.
Johnson’s widow Kerrie attended the hearing but neither spoke in court nor to the press after the hearing. Sand said after the hearing that Johnson’s family was pleased with the agreement, but that they felt the day was “bittersweet.”
“They have some strong feelings about what should happen as a consequence,” he said after the hearing.
Sand offered few details about how both sides reached a plea agreement, but said the discussions were extensive.
“It has been an ongoing process,” he said.
Speaking outside the courthouse Johnson’s sister, Linda Lewis of Chateauguay, N.Y., said it was the first time she had seen Daley. “It’s very tough that he’s still here. He has so many rights in court,” she said.
Johnson was killed on Father’s Day last year; his brother Glenn Johnson said this Father’s Day would be the “toughest time” for their family.
“It will be a tough day for all of us,” he said.
Daley was stopped by police June 15 on Interstate 91 in Thetford for driving 82 mph in a 65-mph zone. Police said Daley sped away as they were deciding whether to get a police dog to search his car for drugs.
Johnson, positioned in a crossover in an Interstate 91 median in Norwich, put a strip of spikes across the highway to stop Daley, who allegedly was then driving more than 100 mph. Daley swerved to avoid the spikes and struck and killed Johnson, who was outside his cruiser, police said.
Daley then fled on foot and was captured two days later, hiking the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania.
In addition to the manslaughter and drug charges Daley, 24, also pleaded guilty Monday to leaving the scene of an accident with death resulting, gross negligent operation with death resulting and attempting to elude police.
Teachout has the ultimate say in whether to reject the plea agreement if she believes the punishment is inadequate, Sand said.
Two other New Hampshire men, Adrian Greene and Kevin O’Neill, were charged in March with being accessories after the fact for assisting Daley. A third, Joseph Tatro, was charged with hindering apprehension.
Sand said the Vermont charges against those men are still pending but did not elaborate.