ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
Scott Allman ground his thumbs together as the prosecutor recounted his crime: unintentionally killing a Vinton couple and their infant daughter last spring during a high-speed chase with police.
Allman stared at his hands, his expression never changing. When asked if he wanted to speak for himself, he stood up. Holding back sobs, he said he wanted to be punished. In fact, he said, he should be punished.
"I know what I did was wrong," Allman, 22, said Wednesday during his sentencing hearing. "And, yeah, I have been having nightmares about this. ... I just don't want other families to go through the same mistakes I've done."
He told Roanoke County Circuit Court Judge Roy B. Willett that he should receive more than the four-year recommended maximum for manslaughter under sentencing guidelines.
That's "ridiculous - it's too low, and I know it, and I'm the one facing this," he said. But "no matter what you give me I have to live with this for the rest of my life. That's all I have to say."
On April 21, Allman killed Thomas Faucher Jr., 34; Lori Mason, 36; and their daughter, Joleen Faucher, who was only 58 days old, after he slammed his car in theirs.
Willett sentenced Allman to 15 years in prison. The four-year recommendation under the guidelines is based on similar cases in the state and the defendant's criminal record. Under state law, Allman faced a maximum sentence of 30 years for three counts of manslaughter.
"The results of what you did are just awesome to me," Willett told Allman.
The manslaughter convictions cap a criminal record that began when Allman was a teen-ager, when he was charged with arson and assault and battery. The court interceded, sending him to mental-health professionals for help. Despite repeated treatment, Allman remained belligerent and uncontrollable, according to court testimony.
He also racked up bad-check charges and a six-page traffic record, which included a host of speeding violations and license suspensions.
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart argued for the maximum 30-year sentence, saying the sentencing guidelines were a "mockery."
"People have got to learn if they're going to run and kill people they're going to have to pay the price," Burkart said.
Allman's lawyer, Thomas Blaylock, asked Willett to remember that the deaths were not intentional and that his client pleaded guilty in June, accepting responsibility for the crime. But he agreed that the sentencing guidelines did not reflect an appropriate punishment for taking the lives of three people.
"Quite frankly, it's the sentence I would have given if I was the judge," Blaylock said after the hearing. "It took a portion of [Allman's] life but gives him a chance to have his life."
During that Sunday afternoon last April, Allman and his wife were driving on U.S. 220, just south of the city, when a Roanoke County officer tried to stop them. Instead of pulling over, Allman sped up, sometimes reaching 90 mph, leading police onto Interstate 581 and into North Roanoke County.
The 17.3-mile chase took Allman only 131/2 minutes. He ran red lights, sideswiped another car and drove on the wrong side of the road. He smoked a cigarette and asked his wife to hand him another soda.
"He's got his arm hanging out the window like he's out for a Sunday afternoon joy ride," Burkart said.
Allman approached the intersection of Plantation and Williamson roads, but didn't slow down. A Monte Carlo waiting at the intersection had just gotten a green light. Inside were Faucher, Mason and their daughter. Faucher edged his car forward.
But Allman continued to speed, disregarded his red light and smashed into the family's car. The impact threw Mason and Joleen from the car. Faucher was trapped inside. All died from their injuries.
Allman was driving on a suspended license and was wanted on a charge of failure to appear in court. He fled, he told police, because he feared going to jail.
Wednesday, Allman also was sentenced to six months in jail for leaving the scene of an accident and 60 days in jail for driving on a suspended license.
"No matter what he got we would not have been satisfied," Thomas Faucher Sr. said after the hearing. "[But] he got ample [time] considering everything."
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. 1. Laura Faucher (left), a sisterby CNBof Thomas Faucher, one of three who died in the April wreck; and
Jennifer Cortijo, a family friend, grieve at Scott Allman's
sentencing Wednesday. 2. Scott Allman Wants to be punished. color. KEYWORDS: FATALITY