HENNIKER, N.H. — A Henniker man who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing an off-duty Hopkinton police officer will likely serve less than four years in prison after a plea agreement yesterday.
Jeffrey Dennis, 22, of Henniker was sentenced 5 to 15 years on two felony counts of negligent homicide and one count of conduct after an accident. A judge ruled that all but four years may be suspended under set conditions; with time served, that number is likely to be lower. The agreement capped an emotional day of testimony from the family and friends of Sean Powers, a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War who was killed Aug. 14 after being struck on his motorcycle as he rode home along Route 202/9.
Powers, of Hillsboro, had recently ended a shift at the Hopkinton Police Department at the time of his death.
The plea deal, in part, was reached after Dennis's defense argued that the state did not obtain a warrant before taking one of three blood samples after he was taken into custody following a six-hour manhunt. Dennis, whose criminal record includes two attempts to escape arrest following other accidents, turned himself over to the police after hiding in the woods less than a mile from the crash scene.
After Dennis was taken into custody about 5 a.m., three blood tests were administered throughout the day. The first test, taken about 9 a.m., showed his blood alcohol content at a legal level of 0.05 percent. Blood samples also detected trace amounts of marijuana in Dennis's system.
Without a warrant for the first blood sample, however, the state would have risked losing it as evidence if the case went to trial, Assistant Merrimack County Attorney George Waldron said yesterday.
The accident occurred while Dennis and a friend, Adam Kowalski of Henniker, drove home from the Chen Yang Li bar in Bow about 1:30 a.m. A witness told the police that a 1992 BMW, driven by Dennis, had passed him traveling about 90 mph westbound, shortly before the intersection of the former Golden Pineapple. Less than a minute later, the witness found Powers's lifeless body in the road and heard a vehicle revving its engine, followed by voices fleeing into nearby woods.
Sean Powers's father, Peter Powers, drew sobs from a courtroom packed with police officers, family members and friends as he told Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Carol Ann Conboy about the grief of learning that his 24-year-old son, who served twice in Iraq, was left to die on the road.
"All I can picture is him squirming around on the highway screaming, 'Dad! Dad! Dad!' And for what? Trying to keep the public safe," Peter Powers said. "And (Dennis and Kowalski) go running away like cowards into the night, trying to scream obscenities to the people helping my son."
Peter Powers directed his anger toward the defendant several times as he spoke, advising Dennis to stay away from drugs and alcohol and "try to be the man that Sean was."
"Sean spent more time serving his country longer than you'll be in jail. And that's a fact. He spent more time in the Boy Scouts," Peter Powers said. "All you have to do is be a good boy and probably be paroled in three years and eight months."
A sobbing, red-faced Dennis offered a brief apology to the Powers family after the sentence was handed down.
"I would like to apologize for this tragedy caused by my reckless and careless acts," Dennis said. "There are no words I can say to bring your son back. . . . There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about the pain I've caused. I hope you find the sincerity of the words I have said. I am so sorry."
Despite a record scattered with driving while intoxicated charges and a history of fleeing accident scenes, Dennis served no prison time before Powers's death.
On Aug. 13, 2006, Dennis drove drunk in a Chevrolet Blazer on Interstate 89 in Concord, reaching speeds of 93 mph. According to court records, Dennis rolled the SUV off a northbound exit ramp, hit several trees and continued driving. After being confronted by the state police, Dennis tried to escape by running to the woods before being detained, and he refused to tell the arresting officer his name or date of birth, the records said. Records indicate those allegations were later dropped as part of a plea agreement.
Ultimately, Dennis pleaded guilty in October 2006 to charges of DWI, speeding and resisting arrest. His license was suspended for two years and reinstated pending a year of good behavior. He was fined $500 on the drunken driving charge – the other half was suspended – and $420 for speeding. For resisting arrest, he was sentenced to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, both of which were suspended.
When he was 17, Dennis drove a Jeep into a mailbox in Weare without notifying the police or owner. He was sentenced to pay $100 in restitution for the mailbox.
Questions of liability surrounding Dennis's alcohol intake before the Aug. 14 accident have yet to be answered.
The state liquor commission is in the process of reviewing facts from the investigation and has not determined whether the restaurant will be penalized for serving Dennis, according to Chief Eddie Edwards of the state liquor enforcement bureau.
The bar's management told investigators that Dennis stayed there for about three hours and was given the okay to drive home after being checked by staff. Dennis bought at least three alcoholic drinks while there, according to Chen Yang Li's statement to the police.
The state said yesterday that Dennis and Kowalski drank a 12- pack of beer at Kowalski's workplace before they went to Chen Yang Li. Kowalski, who is not facing charges, told the police that Dennis drank between one and two beers in the nearly three hours before going to the bar.
Dennis will receive 125 days of credit for the time he served in prison since the accident. His sentence consists of five years for the negligent homicide charge, with a year suspended pending completion of a 28-day substance-abuse class, and a suspended 3 1/2- to 5-year sentence for conduct after an accident. It is consistent with other penalties sought by county prosecutors for similar crimes, said Waldron, who gave credit to Dennis for his efforts to "minimize impact" on the Powers family throughout the process.
"It's clear that no amount of time can compensate for their loss," Waldron said. "I'm sure some would like to see the defendant incarcerated for as long as he possibly can be."
That point was hammered home by a letter from Scott Powers, a brother of Sean Powers. Scott Powers is a Marine stationed in North Carolina and couldn't return to New Hampshire yesterday.
"Dennis deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars," the letter said. "I ask that the court that the maximum punishment be served."
Powers's girlfriend, Amanda Shalk, told the courtroom that her dreams of marriage and starting a family were stolen the night Powers was killed.
"You took Sean from me," Shalk said, weeping. "You left him in the middle of that road. You can claim to be regretful . . . but you should have been the one who died that night. You should rot in jail for all those horrible decisions."
Dennis's attorney, Jim Rosenberg of Shaheen & Gordon, also apologized to the Powers family for his client's actions, but he stressed that his client has been cooperative from the beginning and that he is truly sorry.
"(Dennis) made the wrong decision that night, and it was tragic and terrible and deadly. Today he makes the right decision . . . to take full responsibility for his conduct in this case. By doing that, I truly hope that you can see what I've come to: that there is a brief window in his soul . . . and that he does have true strength of character."