Forgiven driver back in court

A drunken driver who killed a man in 1998 was drinking in July when she drove to buy crack, prosecutors say.

By JOUNICE L. NEALY

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000

A year ago, Karen McCoach forgave the drunk driver who killed her son and persuaded the judge to be lenient in sentencing her.

McCoach thought that the one-year sentence to county jail, followed by 15 years' probation, would keep Tammy L. Marshall straight. After all, she wouldn't be allowed to drink or drive, let alone do both at the same time. And she would have to tell others about the dangers of drunken driving, which led to the death of Kelly Eric Kneedler.

"If she could save one other person, maybe my son's life wouldn't have been in vain," McCoach said then. "Who knows?"

But Marshall returned McCoach's favor by breaking the law, prosecutors said Monday at a pretrial hearing.

Marshall was arrested in July for driving without a license. She had alcohol on her breath and told officers that she was in the neighborhood to buy crack.

"I can't think of anything more egregious," said Assistant State Attorney Doug Ellis. "She was given a huge break and opportunity by the court. She failed."

Although McCoach asked for leniency the first time, she now says that Marshall must pay.

"If she violated probation, she needed to go to jail," said McCoach, who says she's felt that way all along. "I'm a little disappointed that she couldn't handle it and go on from there. Now it's not my choice."

Marshall's family is asking McCoach to step in again, but "I just can't do it. I don't think I could have been any fairer to anybody with all the pain that I've gone through," McCoach said.

And this time, Marshall probably won't get any mercy. Another hearing is set for Nov. 27.

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Brandt Downey said Marshall's circumstances are no different than they were when he first sentenced her.

Downey told Marshall's attorney, Larry Sandefer, that he would follow the sentencing guidelines. Besides, Downey said his decision could be reversed on appeal if he gave Marshall another break.

Sandefer suggested that Marshall's probation be modified to include time at a PAR residential drug treatment program or that she be given only 18 months in prison, sentenced to a residential program at PAR and probation.

Marshall, 28, suffers from bipolar disorder, has attempted suicide and is having extreme difficulty in coping with the guilt of killing someone, Sandefer said.

"She wants badly to undo what she did," he said.

"The problems that I'm hearing today are no different than the problems I heard a year ago," Downey said. And back then the judge said that Marshall would go to prison if she violated her probation.

But Sandefer pointed out that Marshall had performed her community service, given talks to students about the dangers of drinking and driving. A coordinator at Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care told of Marshall's contributions and her boyfriend personally vouched for Marshall's character, describing her as giving, loving, honest and sensitive.

"So was my son," McCoach whispered.

Kelly Eric Kneedler, 32, was killed in October 1998, after Marshall ran a red light at Gandy Boulevard N and Fourth Street in St. Petersburg and slammed into a car driven by Kneedler. Marshall's blood-alcohol level was .155, nearly twice the legal limit, and there was cocaine in her system. The accident happened at 10 a.m., so prosecutors immediately figured Marshall had a drug problem.

She pleaded guilty, lost her license and spent eight months in county jail. She was released in January.

Six months later, Marshall, whose license was revoked, was arrested for driving. She called McCoach to tell her about the arrest. Over lunch, Marshall told her about the drinking, the driving and the intent to buy drugs, McCoach said.

"She wanted to tell me before the state told me," she said.

Marshall is being held at the Pinellas County Jail without bail. During the hearing, she looked at Kneedler's family and sobbed.

The victim's sister, Stefini Kneedler, said Marshall probably was remorseful, "but I'm sorry, I don't see it." Her brother was "full of life. He was 32 years old. He was my best friend," she said.

Stefini Kneedler asked the judge to forget about leniency for Marshall.

"My family is completely torn apart because of this," she said.

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