Six year saga ends: Lake Havasu man convicted
LAKE HAVASU CITY – Family and friends of a well-respected Lake Havasu City man killed in a traffic accident more than six years ago finally saw the man deemed responsible taken into custody on Friday, Aug. 20. Tyler Sugamele, 27, will serve one year in the Mohave County jail followed by four years of probation under terms mandated in a plea agreement attorneys reached in the case.
Sugamele was convicted of negligent homicide and endangerment for the May 24, 2015 collision that claimed the life of John Ryan, 63, and his pet dog, Lulu, his faithful companion who reportedly was well known at the local dog park.
Several of Ryan’s siblings and others addressed Judge Lee Jantzen in a sentencing hearing that stretched beyond two hours. One of them, Tim Ryan, spent 45 minutes reading into the record lengthy statements authored by himself and his son who is in the Army and stationed overseas.
Ryan told the Court that the family opposes the plea deal on grounds of leniency and feel they’ve been cheated out of a trial in their pursuit of justice. Another sibling, Carol Henry, said they’ll allow a higher authority to sort it out.
“God knows the truth,” she said. “Truth and justice will prevail.”
Defense Attorney Joey Hamby said Sugamele and his supportive family respect the pain and suffering endured by friends and family of the victim. He said no one would leave the sentencing hearing pleased with the outcome.
Hamby explained that Sugamele is borderline autistic and has mental health issues that make it difficult for him to emote. Sugamele tried but could not complete delivery of a statement prepared for the hearing.
“Every day I’m…,” Sugamele said, with a long pause before his final utterance. “I’m so sorry.”
About a dozen Sugamele supporters in the crowded courtroom said nothing when provided the opportunity, resting on the strength of pre-submitted letters.
Prosecutor Jacob Cote said he believed Sugamele’s mental health issues were exaggerated by his lawyer and family. Nonetheless, he said, the matters would likely have impacted the jury and made conviction more difficult at trial.
Cote further noted that a Supreme Court ruling just in advance of the accident that claimed Ryan’s life prevented the state from introducing blood evidence at trial that would have proved marijuana consumption. At the same time, he expressed skepticism about the veracity of Sugamele’s police admission that he smoked pot that day, but that others forced him to do so before he left the gathering.
Sugamele reportedly was involved in a traffic accident after he left the group and fled the scene of that accident before his Ford F150 pickup truck struck Ryan’s Saturn in the vicinity of Acoma and South Palo Verde Boulevards. Cote told Judge Jantzen that he rejected the defense claim that a stuck accelerator explained how Sugamele was traveling above 100 miles an hour in a 35-mile an hour zone at the time of the crash.
Cote and Hamby said a couple of retired judges also heavily influenced the case outcome. Both said the judges concluded after a settlement conference six months ago that a hung jury would likely result from trial and they urged the lawyers to resolve the case with a plea deal.
“You don’t ignore 2 men with 100 years of legal experience,” Hamby said.
Jantzen told the hearing audience that he was not at liberty to add prison years to the attorney-crafted plea bargain. And he explained need of closure is one reason he accepted the agreement.
“This case needs to end,” Jantzen said. “It needs to end and go no further.”
Jantzen also ordered Sugamele to perform 360 hours of community work service while serving probation, following his jail stay.
Dave Hawkins
