|
Charges Against Trucker
Dropped by DA In Hamilton Case
By
Ed Oliver
February 8, 2001
All
charges were dropped yesterday against a trucker who had admitted
in previous hearings that he had driven his 18-wheeler behind
Linda Hamilton and tried to force her off the Mohawk Trail in
rural western Massachusetts last year.
The
driver, James M. Harkins, stated at a hearing last fall that he
tailgated and flashed his lights at the woman because he believed
she was going too slowly and it made it difficult for him to ascend
the steep grade over the mountain, according to the Berkshire
Eagle.
“There
was no parade, no horse and buggy,” causing Hamilton to drive
slowly, he had said. Although neither the police nor District
Attorney charged the trucker, Judge Michael J. Ripps did so after
hearing testimony from both parties in September.
When
the trucker’s lawyer told Judge Ripps, “She wouldn’t get out of
his way,” the judge questioned why she had to get out of the trucker’s
way.
Hamilton
testified that when the truck came up behind her, she looked at
her speedometer and increased her speed from 23 mph to 30 mph.
The
trucker was scheduled to appear in Central Berkshire District
Court in North Adams yesterday. However, Assistant District Attorney
Kelly Mulcahy informed Hamilton’s attorney, Gregory Hession, in
a letter yesterday that her office had agreed to a finding of
not guilty against Harkins, “based upon the evidence heard in
the matter of Commonwealth v. Hamilton."
But
Hession told MassNews this was no surprise because it wasn’t the
District Attorney who had entered the charges against the trucker
in the first place.
Was
Trucker Coached by DA?
In Hamilton’s trial held last week, she was found guilty of Assault
with a Dangerous Weapon in Pittsfield District Court for showing
a gun during her encounter with the impatient trucker on the lonely
road last March.
Hamilton’s
attorney, Greg Hession, told MassNews he suspects that the truck
driver was coached on what to say at the Hamilton trial. “Was
the dropping of the claim against the truck driver an exchange
for changing his testimony from his earlier statements?” he asked.
The
lawyer explained that last week’s trial was the only time that
the trucker ever gave testimony that he was in fear or that she
pointed the gun at him -- both necessary elements for the DA to
successfully prosecute Hamilton for assault with a dangerous weapon.
“Obviously
the truck driver was offered a deal to change his testimony so
that the DA would drop the charges against him,” Hamilton told
MassNews.
The
trucker testified at Hamilton’s trial last week that she was driving
too slowly in front of him so he put on his lights but stayed
a car-length behind her. He said Hamilton then placed him in fear
as she held up her unholstered gun for him to see, then pointed
it at him.
Hamilton
testified she felt threatened and terrified by Harkin’s rush up
to her bumper, his repeated tailgating and driving up next to
her door in the opposite lane. She said she placed her holstered
gun against the steering wheel as she drove. As soon as she could,
she pulled over to call the state police, but they charged her
and not the driver.
Atty.
Hession plans to appeal Hamilton’s conviction within the next
few days. Yesterday, Hamilton filed a Motion for a New Trial and
a Motion to Revise and Revoke the sentence.
Related:
Linda
Hamilton Is Guilty of ‘Assault With A Dangerous Weapon’
|
