'01 fatal crash may be retried

A trucker accused of dozing got 15 years. A new witness steps up.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE, Times Staff Writer
Published January 29, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Jean Claude Meus was convicted of vehicular homicide.

WAUCHULA - In the parking lot of the Hardee County Courthouse, these words decorated a blue minivan:

"We love Jean Claude Meus and want him free now!!"

Supporters of Meus, a 43-year-old truck driver and Haitian immigrant serving 15 years in prison for his role in a fatal 2001 car crash, filed into a judge's courtroom Monday afternoon in hopes of clearing his name.

Those gathered had wanted to hear testimony of a new witness in the case, a man not called to testify at Meus' trial. Instead, Circuit Judge Jeff McKibben postponed any testimony from the man, Juan Otero, until prosecutors had a chance to depose him. Another hearing date was not set Monday.

For those gathered, it meant more waiting.

"I didn't like it," said Diane Thibodeau, sister of Meus' fiance, Rebecca Chenoweth of Knoxville, Tenn. "I think they're just slowing things down."

On Sept. 16, 2003, Meus was sentenced to prison after being convicted of vehicular homicide for the deaths of Nona A. Moore and her daughter, Lindsey. Prosecutors accused Meus, a commercial driver, of recklessly falling asleep at the wheel of a truck loaded with tomatoes.

In an unusual twist, among those outraged at his sentence were relatives of the Moores, who believed that Meus did nothing criminal.

Meus' case gained attention in the Tampa Bay area amid questions about the cases of Jennifer Porter, the elementary school dance teacher sentenced to house arrest and probation for leaving the scene of a crash that left two children dead in Tampa, and William Thornton IV, a Citrus County teen sentenced to 30 years in prison after killing a couple in a traffic crash.

NAACP leaders had questioned the fairness of all three cases. Porter is white, those who died black. Thornton and Meus are black, and those who died were white. All were first-time offenders.

After seeing a television report on the case, Otero, who then worked at the Zolfo Springs Fire Department, came forward, saying he was one of the first emergency personnel on the scene. Although others had testified they had seen Meus sleeping even after the accident, Otero says Meus wasn't asleep when he arrived, said Meus' attorney, John Trevena.

Trevena hopes Otero's testimony will pave the way for a new trial for his client.

Chenoweth, too, said she was optimistic but tired of waiting.

Today is Meus' 44th birthday. Instead of spending the day together in celebration, Chenoweth will be visiting him in jail.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.

[Last modified January 28, 2008, 23:56:03]