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Judge gives teen another break

His good friend was injured in a car accident, for which the teen got house arrest. Now a charge of violating probation is tossed out.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published September 28, 2005

A Pinellas County judge has given William Botelho Jr. a second break, dismissing a charge that he violated his probation by not going directly home after work. He was sentenced to house arrest because of a wreck that severely injured one of his best friends.

Botelho, 19, of Seminole was released from jail on Sept. 16 after spending 53 days behind bars on a charge that he violated the conditions of his house arrest.

"Here we go again," said Debbie Kwilecki, the mother of Dustin Kwilecki, who received multiple brain injuries in the accident. "It's time to move on and get the boot out of his butt and straighten up. The judge said if he messes up again, that's it."

Botelho's troubles began on Feb. 21, 2004, when he was driving Dustin Kwilecki and another friend home from Clearwater Beach. Racing at nearly 90 mph in a 45 mph zone on Keene Road, Botelho lost control of his 1994 Trans Am, which hit a curb and crashed into a tree on the opposite side of the street near Belleair Road in Largo.

Kwilecki, 19, of Pinellas Park was thrown onto the asphalt. His head took the brunt of the impact, which fractured his skull and caused multiple brain injuries.

Kwilecki spent more than three weeks in a coma, almost three months at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg and about seven months in outpatient therapy. He had to learn how to eat, walk and talk again. Today he has mood swings and can't remember most of his life before the accident.

Botelho's first break came June 30, when he was sentenced to two years of house arrest and three years of probation for racing on the highway and felony reckless driving. Without a plea deal, Botelho had faced up to five years in prison.

Botelho's license was revoked for two years as part of his original sentence and his house arrest required him to head directly to his Seminole home after work. But less than a month after he was sentenced, Botelho violated those rules, authorities said. He left his job at UPS in the Largo area and a friend drove him to his former girlfriend's apartment. She drove him home, an argument ensued and Botelho took her cell phone and purse.

The dispute was settled by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, according to a probation officer's report. Botelho was arrested and was held at the Pinellas County Jail.

In dismissing the charge on Sept. 16, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Lauren Laughlin told Botelho that any new violation could mean prison time.

"We're as close to a wakeup call as we're going to get," said Botelho's lawyer, Jay Hebert.

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 28, 2005, 02:30:38]