A Pinellas County jury found Lonnie Booth guilty of DUI manslaughter this week. Booth was charged after the November 2005 death of Rose Mitrano on Roosevelt Boulevard. Booth was also found guilty of driving with a license that had been suspended, revoked or canceled.

Prosecutors said Booth was driving 40 to 45 mph when he struck Mitrano, who was walking along Roosevelt Boulevard between Interstate 275 and 28th Street. Booth apparently kept driving despite a deployed air bag, a broken headlight and a smashed windshield. Mitrano came up on the hood of the car and was nearly decapitated, according to law enforcement.

Booth was pulled over a short while later with Mitrano’s blood on his car.

According to prosecutors, Booth had been drinking vodka and smoking crack before the collision. About an hour later, his blood alcohol level was .297 – more than three times the .08 percent at which Florida law presumes intoxication.

Although the jury would not have been informed of his criminal history, prosecutors said outside the courtroom that Booth had four prior drunken-driving convictions before the wreck, and had been released from prison on one of those charges shortly before the Mitrano hit-and-run. Booth’s driver’s license was permanently revoked because of the repeated drunken driving convictions.

Booth faces 30 years to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for June 5.

DUI

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 7:59 am and is filed under Florida Criminal Law News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.