Driver in Smart murder case gets sentence cut

CONCORD, N.H. – Vance Lattime Jr., the getaway driver in New Hampshire’s notorious Pamela Smart murder case, was granted a three-year sentence reduction Tuesday.

He becomes eligible immediately for parole but first must appear before the state parole board.

“He’s aware that he got it,” Mark Stevens, Lattime’s lawyer, said. “The family’s very pleased with the result.”

A spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections said the earliest date to schedule a parole hearing likely would be in June. Stevens declined to comment about Lattime’s next step.

“It’s a little bit premature to talk about what we’re going to do procedurally,” he said.

Lattime was 17 in 1990 when he agreed to help Smart murder her husband, Gregory Smart. Lattime, known as J.R., supplied the getaway car – his grandmother’s – and the murder weapon from his father’s gun collection. His friend William Flynn – who at 15 became Pamela Smart’s lover – shot Gregory Smart, 24, in the head while another friend, Patrick Randall, held him down.

Now 32, Lattime has served 15 years of an 18-year-to-life sentence for accomplice to second-degree murder.

In papers granting the sentence reduction, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Kenneth McHugh wrote that Lattime’s record of good behavior in Maine State Prison in Warren contributed to his decision.

“The defendant’s progress in prison has been nothing short of remarkable,” he wrote.

Lattime’s request included letters written for him by Maine corrections officials.

“Mr. Lattime has always been respectful and helpful to both staff and inmate alike while at this facility … I believe he will be a responsible and productive citizen if given the opportunity,” wrote Officer Walter Robinson.

Prosecutor Will Delker, who had opposed further reduction of a sentence significantly cut from the original 30-year-to-life deal, said Tuesday that “the state’s disappointed with the decision but it’s clear from the judge’s order that he carefully considered both sides and recognized that the state’s position wasn’t unreasonable.” He declined to say what the state’s position would be at the parole hearing.

Gregory Smart’s father, Bill Smart, said he was disappointed with the judge’s decision.

“Mr. Lattime agreed to a plea bargain from 30 to 18 years for his cooperation to testify against Pam,” he told WMUR-TV. While he thought Lattime had accepted responsibility for his part in the crime, Smart said Lattime never fully understood the damage he caused all the families involved.

“I feel 18 years is a reasonable time,” Smart said.

During a hearing last week, Smart said he wanted Lattime to complete the 18-year sentence, but would consider supporting his request if Lattime talked to him about his plans.

“Under the law, a defendant’s parole plan must be approved by the New Hampshire Parole Board, not by the court or a victim’s family. However, the thoughts expressed by Mr. Smart suggest his opinions that the defendant serve another three years is not hard and fast,” McHugh wrote.