Jury acquits McManus of manslaughter charge> Relieved Bangor man says verdict won’t return friend

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BANGOR — A Superior Court jury Tuesday acquitted David McManus of all charges in connection with a tragic car accident 14 months ago that claimed the life of his best friend.

Standing in court in his white Navy uniform, McManus, 23, trembled as the jury foreman answered “not guilty” to three questions posed by a court clerk at the Penobscot County Superior Court on Hammond Street.

In the end, McManus was cleared of charges of manslaughter and aggravated operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. He also was found not guilty of a lesser charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

The stunning verdict followed a seven-day trial on a topic that both defense and prosecution attorneys labeled difficult and heart-wrenching.

At the center of the trial was a friendship between two young men, McManus and Aaron Hartery, 21, both of Bangor, that ended tragically June 9, 1995, when Hartery was decapitated in a car accident on outer Broadway in Bangor.

A career Navy man, McManus slumped over the table after the verdict was read. Defense attorney N. Laurence Willey grasped McManus’ arm, then patted his back in support. McManus faced up to 45 years in prison and expulsion from the Navy if convicted of the felonies.

McManus later said he was happy with the jury’s decision, although he acknowledged the result will not bring back his lifelong friend.

“I’m glad other people saw the light. It was a tragic accident and that’s it,” said McManus before embracing his mother and walking outside the courthouse.

Hartery’s parents, Edward B. and Priscilla E. Hartery, declined comment after the verdict. They sat in the courtroom throughout the trial surrounded by relatives and friends.

Attorney Willey said the jury clearly found reasonable doubt sufficient to acquit his client. Terming it one of the most difficult cases he has worked on, Willey praised the state for its work but said problems he raised with state’s evidence might have influenced the jury.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Campbell said he was disappointed with the verdict.

“We respect the jury’s decision. The jury found we didn’t meet our burden of proof,” said Campbell.

Campbell acknowledged sharp discrepencies in interpretation of evidence between the prosecution and defense.

“We were basing our case primarily on the blood alcohol test of 0.14, which is well over the legal limit , and the circumstances of the crash. We thought we had a strong case,” Campbell said.

The verdict capped flamboyant and spirited closing arguments that took place earlier Tuesday in the case.

McManus, who is up for promotion to petty officer, took the stand in his own defense Tuesday and said he had no recollection of the accident. It was the last installment in a week of sometimes boring, sometimes gory testimony that featured a host of expert witnesses and conflicting interpretations of key evidence.

McManus was home on leave in June 1995 when he and Hartery got together. After spending several hours at the Miami North club on Broadway, they got into McManus’ car, a 1989 Mustang, and drove north, heading for a friend’s house in Glenburn.

The last thing he remembered before the accident, McManus said, was passing the intersection of Kenduskeag Avenue and Broadway. The next thing he recalled was being pulled from the wrecked car, which had veered off the road, clipped a mailbox, sheared three guy wires, hit two trees and flipped over in a driveway.

McManus’ mother, Linda McManus, also took the stand Tuesday and spoke of the close bond between her son and Hartery who met in the first grade. The pair saw one another almost daily throughout high school until McManus enlisted in the Navy after graduation.

But the focus Tuesday morning was on the fireworks produced by closing arguments of defense attorney Willey and prosecutor Campbell.

At one point, Willey moved for a mistrial after Campbell claimed it was time McManus accepted responsibility and be held accountable for the accident.

Superior Court Justice Andrew Mead denied the motion.

Earlier, Willey had pounded the lectern during his closing argument and castigated the prosecution team for its “audacity, arrogance and impertinence” for interviewing an eyewitness to the accident only three days before the trial started.

Willey also said the state’s investigation of the case was “botched, bungled and bogus,” and he took issue with every aspect of the state’s evidence.

Willey charged the state with a “rush to judgment” in the case, chiding it for refusing to back away from a position taken with a police statement June 14 that indicated speed and alcohol were key factors in the accident.

Campbell, in turn, urged jurors to use their common sense in coming to a decision. He also told them to consider the credibility of the many expert and lay witnesses that testified during the seven days of the trial.

Each attorney attacked the credibility of the other’s expert witnesses. Issues included:

Speed. A police accident reconstructionist for the prosecution said McManus was speeding in excess of 80 mph in a 40 mph zone at the time of the accident. The defense produced Charles Armatrout, a Portland physics professor and accident reconstructionist who listed McManus’ speed at 39 mph. Professor Armatrout found errors in the police accident reconstructionist’s figures which could have lowered the defense’s speed estimate, a fact that Willey pounded home to the jurors.

Alcohol consumption. Dr. James Young, a physician, determined McManus’ blood alcohol level at 0.14 about an hour and 15 minutes after the accident. A level of 0.08 is considered legally drunk. The defense maintains the test was not done according to specific directions and that McManus’ blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was closer to Hartery’s which was measured 0.03.

Path of the accident vehicle. The defense maintains the car veered off the road, clipped a mailbox and lost momentum after it hit three guy wires which supported a telephone pole before the car rolled over. The prosecution maintains the car swerved off the road, hit the mailbox, went up an embankment and became airborne, clipping off the tops of two trees before striking the guy wires and rolling over. The theory is important in determining the vehicle’s speed, among other factors.