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Jail for Prison Break star?
01/02/2007 07:16 - (SA)
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| Lane Garrison at a Prison Break end of season party. (Tammie Arroyo, AP) |
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Beverly Hills, California - Prison Break actor Lane Garrison should be charged with manslaughter and drunken driving for a car crash that killed a teenage passenger and injured two others, police said.
Police Chief David L Snowden said on Wednesday that investigators have asked county prosecutors to charge Garrison, 26, with felony gross vehicular manslaughter; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs; and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Investigators recommended that the drunken driving allegation carry the enhancement that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15% or more. An adult driver in California is legally over the limit at 0.08%.
Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney, said that the police report was under review but that no decision had been made on whether to file charges.
Garrison's Land Rover jumped a curb and struck a tree on December 2, killing 17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student Vahaghn Setian and injuring two 15-year-old girls also in the vehicle. Garrison suffered minor injuries.
Garrison's attorney, Harland Braun, said the police decision to announce details of the investigation before charges have been filed was "a totally irresponsible thing".
A public trial
"It was basically a public trial ... designed to influence potential jurors," Braun said.
Braun said he had not yet seen any of the evidence or police reports on the investigation.
Snowden said Garrison had a blood-alcohol level of 0.20%. After the crash, police said, the actor volunteered to submit a blood sample, and analysis of it found he also had cocaine in his system.
Police were waiting to hear from the district attorney's office before making an arrest.
If charged and convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter, Garrison, a Dallas native who plays "Tweener" on the Fox drama, could face up to 10 years in prison.
Braun has said previously that Garrison met the youths at a grocery store and accompanied them to a party, where he had one drink. He told the Los Angeles Times that Garrison didn't remember anything about the accident after waking up in a hospital.
Snowden alleged that Garrison gave alcohol to the teens more than once that evening.
The Garrison case marked the second time this week that crash investigators have asked for charges against a Hollywood celebrity in a traffic death.
On Monday, the California Highway Patrol recommended to the Los Angeles city attorney that actress-singer Brandy, 27, be charged with misdemeanour vehicular manslaughter for a freeway chain-reaction crash that killed a woman motorist in December.
- AP
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