2nd CHANCE

Probation revoked for driver involved
in fatal car-motorcycle crash

After violating the terms of his supervised probation, Bennett Pagnac has been re-sentenced to six months in jail.
Pagnac, 25, was involved in a fatal car-motorcycle accident in June 2004 and given a 10-year deferred prison sentence in December 2005 on the felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.
In court Wednesday, Traill County states attorney Stuart Larson asked Judge Wade L. Webb to revoke Pagnac’s probation and to re-sentence him to two years in the state penitentiary.
Larson argued, “This young man has not chosen to take probation seriously. He only gets involved when the pressure is applied.
“He doesn’t understand the seriousness of what’s occurred.”
Pagnac’s attorney suggested his client be ordered to serve 60 days of probationary jail time with work and school release.
In May 2007, a petition to revoke Pagnac’s 10-year probation was filed. Traill County authorities arrested Pagnac June 11 in Moorhead, Minn. He was held in the county jail Hillsboro on $50,000 bail. He was released on a reduced $5,000 bail after 16 days in jail.
In court Wednesday, Pagnac admitted he had no direct contact with his probation officer since December 2006 and had moved out-of-state without permission. He also admitted that he had failed to complete 100 hours of community service that was ordered as an annual component of his probation.
Pagnac’s defense attorney Steven Light said his client was new to the criminal justice system and he “dropped the ball” by not abiding by the terms of his probation. Since his arrest in June, Pagnac has met all his financial obligations to the court and had completed some of his community service obligation, Light reported.
“He did drop the ball. In the last few months, he’s picked up the ball and he’s back in the game,” Light told Judge Webb. “The wake up call has been answered by Mr. Pagnac.”
Pagnac, a native of Thief River Falls, Minn., has been a student at Minnesota State University – Moorhead for several years and is three classes away from graduating with a graphics arts degree, attorney Light told the court. He is also employed by DS Beverage of Moorhead, Light added.
Defense attorney Light noted that Pagnac has been receiving counseling for psychiatric issues at The Village in Fargo.
Light said, “He’s not deserving of becoming a felon and being sent to prison. Give Mr. Pagnac one more chance. He will fall in line.”
Larson and Light rehashed some of the details of the June 2004 accident, each offering some “background” to the case for the judge’s consideration.
Light related the events as “an unavoidable accident” while Larson focused on Pagnac leaving the scene of the accident for more than two hours and the fact that his car’s front end was covered with blood and brain matter.
Light added that his client had no prior criminal record. “He was never in trouble before.”
Judge Webb asked Light if his client preferred a lengthy local incarceration followed by probation or a prison sentence. After consulting with Pagnac, Light said the young man preferred to serve time in a county jail.
In tears, Pagnac told Judge Webb, “The last three years have been really hard for me and my family and everyone. I made a big mistake.”
Pagnac’s mother sat in the gallery of the courtroom listening and at times buried her face in her hands.
The victim’s grandmother was also in the courtroom and sat just feet behind Pagnac’s mother.
Judge Webb noted that Pagnac’s probation violations “were not criminal conduct.” The felony Pagnac was convicted of is “a very serious crime, but not a homicide. That’s an important distinction to make,” Webb added.
At the end of the 30-minute proceedings, Webb issued a new sentence for Pagnac — 10 years in the N.D. Department of Corrections, first to serve 180 days in the custody of the Traill County Sheriff with credit for 16 days and the balance suspended for five years. Pagnac will also serve five years of supervised probation and undergo a psychiatric evaluation and follow any treatment recommendations. He must also complete the 100 hours of community service each year as previously ordered.
Webb said that any work or school release was up to the discretion of Traill County Sheriff Mike Crocker.
Crocker told the court that if Pagnac asked to serve his jail sentence in another jail — the Cass County Jail in Fargo, for example — it would be at Pagnac’s own expense.
Light asked that his client be granted the unusual permission to report to jail in 10 to 14 days, rather than report immediately, as most convicted offenders do. States attorney Larson conceded a seven-day reprieve, which Webb allowed. Pagnac was ordered to report to the Traill County Jail by noon Wednesday, Sept. 5. He would remain free on $5,000 until that time.
Webb told Pagnac that if he violated the terms of his probation again, he “should expect a lengthy prison sentence.”
“You’ve been given another chance. Please take advantage of this,” Webb said.
“This was a terrible tragedy but you were not the biggest victim. Keep that in mind.”
On June 18, 2004, 25-year-old Chad A. Dale of Hillsboro was killed in an incident on Hwy. 200 south of Hillsboro. According to police reports, Dale crashed his motorcycle while attempting a “serpentine maneuver” along the road’s center line. A short time later, Pagnac’s car ran over Dale’s body on the roadway.
An autopsy could not determine if Dale died of injuries suffered in the first accident or the second. He was not wearing a helmet and was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident, according to the police reports. Officially, his death was ruled “accidental,” by a state medical examiner.
Dale’s family vehemently disputed the state’s findings and maintained that only one accident occurred — Pagnac’s car striking Dale’s motorcycle.
A specific condition of Pagnac’s probation was highlighted by East Central District Judge Cynthia Rothe-Seeger when he was sentenced. At the recommendation of the Dale family, the judged ordered Pagnac to do a minimum of 100 hours of community service each year for the next 10 years, specifically to speak to high school and college students about his experiences related to the accident and its aftermath.
Pagnac also pled guilty to drunk driving in connection with the accident.
The Dale family had asked the judge to impose the maximum prison sentence of 10 years and revoke Pagnac’s drivers license for several years.
States attorney Stuart Larson had also recommended prison time to the judge.
The defense had asked for “a constructive punishment” for Pagnac, who had a clean criminal record prior to the incident and was working to “put his life back together.”
Judge Rothe-Seeger noted that Pagnac seemed a favorable candidate for probation and was likely to respond affirmatively to it.