PALESTINE —
An Anderson County jury deliberated approximately three hours Thursday afternoon before finding a 51-year-old Palestine man guilty of manslaughter in the June 2011 traffic death of another local man.
Testimony in the trial of Larry Wayne Adams, 51, of Palestine began Tuesday at the Anderson County Courthouse.
Adams, whose punishment will be determined at a later date, was being tried in relation to a two-vehicle wreck on June 9, 2011 inside the Palestine city limits which claimed the life of 60-year-old Keith Robert Gardner, also of Palestine.
Authorities have said Gardner was traveling westbound on Court Drive on a motorcycle when he attempted to turn left onto Bristol Street.
A car was traveling westbound on Court Drive behind Gardner’s motorcycle when a second vehicle — a pickup operated by Adams — attempted to pass both the car and the motorcycle to the left, according to local police.
The pickup collided with the motorcycle near the intersection of Court and Bristol, with Gardner being thrown from his motorcycle upon impact, authorities have said.
Gardner was pronounced dead at the scene by Anderson County Justice of the Peace Gary Thomas.
Anderson County District Attorney Doug Lowe said Adams’ BAC was .06 — below the legal limit of .08 in Texas — following the fatal wreck, but noted the blood draw was performed at a local hospital approximately 90 minutes after the wreck.
After hearing closing arguments from attorneys early Thursday afternoon, the 12-person jury deliberated for approximately three hours before finding Adams guilty of the second-degree felony offense of manslaughter. As part of their deliberations, the jury found the defendant not guilty of the offense of intoxication manslaughter which is also a second-degree felony.
Prior to his trial, Adams had requested that the court determine his punishment if found guilty of an offense.
349th State District Judge Pam Foster Fletcher, who presided over this week’s trial, has ordered a pre-sentence investigation and will likely conduct Adams’ punishment trial later this year.
Adams faces between two-to-20 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
“We’re happy with the manslaughter verdict,” Lowe said Thursday night. “It’s the same range of punishment (as intoxication manslaughter).”
Stanley Sokolowski, assistant district attorney for Anderson County, represented the state during this week’s trial.
Adams was represented by local defense attorney Scott Nicholson.
Paul Stone may be contacted via e-mail at pstone@palestineherald.com
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