Former APD Sgt. Adam Casaus is comforted after a jury found him guilty of two misdemeanor counts of careless driving, but not vehicular homicide or reckless driving. (Jim Thompson/Journal)
A jury today found former APD Sgt. Adam Casaus guilty of two misdemeanor counts of careless driving for a February 2013 crash that left one woman dead. They did not find him guilty of vehicular homicide or reckless driving causing great bodily injury.
On Feb. 10, 2013, Casaus was driving west on Paseo del Norte and he ran into Lindsay Browder, who was driving north on Eagle Ranch. Ashley Browder, Lindsay’s 21-year-old sister, was killed in the crash.
The jury read their verdict at 12:30 p.m. before District Judge Richard Knowles in Albuquerque. They began deliberating at 1 p.m. on Monday, after lawyers made closing arguments. The trial started last Tuesday.
Careless driving is punishable by a $300 fine and defendants can also be sentenced to 90 days in jail or on probation. If the jury had found Casaus was guilty of reckless driving, he would have faced a maximum of 9 years in prison.
Casaus was fired from APD several months after the crash, and his law enforcement certification was revoked. John D’Amato, Casaus’ attorney, said after the trial that he will get to work immediately to try to get Casaus’ certification reinstated.
“I think he has a very good chance at getting his certification back,” D’Amato said.” I’ll let Mr. (Rob) Perry and Chief (Gorden Eden) speak to whether he’s going to be an APD employee. That remains to be seen.”
Casaus spent a few moments hugging his wife and parents after the verdict was read. He declined to talk to the Journal.
The Browder family could not reached for comment. Several family members left the courtroom in tears shortly after the verdict was read. They went down a fire escape and left the area.
“They are disappointed.,” Sean McAfee, an attorney representing the Browders in a civil suit, said after the trial. “It was a difficult verdict for them to hear.”
McAfee said Tuesday’s verdict shouldn’t have an affect on the civil case. He said the Browders are asking the public for privacy.
“While we respect the jury’s verdict, the District Attorney’s Office is disappointed. We sympathize with the Browder family and their tragic loss,” Second Judicial District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said in a statement. “We hope that this case, and others like
it, will draw attention to the need to address the law, and the potential penalties, of ‘Careless Driving’ when a death occurs as a result.”
Lindsay Browder and Casaus each testified about the crash on the witness stand during the child. They told varying accounts.
Casaus said on the stand Friday that the light had just turned green when he entered the intersection, which was the first time a witness in the case said his light was green and not red.
“You do not have enough information as to what color the lights were,” D’Amato said during closing arguments.
Deputy District Attorney Guinevere Ice said Lindsay Browder and two other witnesses said Casaus had a red light.
“That light was red. He ran a red light,” Ice said. Casaus’ testimony is “completely inconsistent with every other witness in the case.”
Casaus also said Friday that he was trying to catch up to a reckless vehicle he saw drive through the intersection of Paseo del Norte and Eagle Ranch. Investigators said during trial there was no evidence of this suspect and Casaus never called it in to dispatch.
Casaus was on his way home from work about 1:30 a.m. after a cup of coffee with his wife, who is a 911 dispatcher. Casaus, who was off duty, drove from the BCSO dispatch to the site of the crash in his APD Chevy Tahoe in less than nine minutes. Prosecutors said he had an average speed of 64 miles per hour and passed through 10 traffic lights.
At the time he entered the intersection, Casaus was driving between 60 and 64 miles per hour, according to crash investigators.
D’Amato in his closing said investigators didn’t do a thorough enough investigation and there were missing notes, videos and witness interviews from the case.
He also told jurors not to treat Casaus with a bias because he is an Albuquerque police officer and the Albuquerque Police Department is frequently scrutinized.
Ice said questions D’Amato raised about the case are jury distractions and that the jury should convict him.
– This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as it becomes available.