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Tampa DUI News – Jury Finds Man Guilty Of Lesser Charge Following Tampa DUI Manslaughter Trial

DUI charges reduced

The Tampa DUI manslaughter case against James Braley is over when the jury found that 39-year-old guilty of a lesser Florida DUI charge.  Braley was part of an extremely unique DUI manslaughter prosecution where he was being tried for the death of a man he did not hit. The drunk driver that killed the man in the accident was already behind bars serving a DUI manslaughter sentence. Braley was charged for the same crime for allegedly causing the situation that led to the man being hit and killed by another drunk driver.

When we first blogged about this trial we told you it was confusing but here is what happened. Bradley was driving drunk on I-275 where he caused an accident. Amir Shaddir saw the vehicle Bradley hit and decided to get out of his car and go check on the driver. While trying to perform a good deed a third driver plowed into Shaddir and the car he was checking on. That driver was convicted of DUI manslaughter. Hillsborough County prosecutors felt that Braley was just as guilty for causing that death so they took Braley to trial for DUI manslaughter as well.

According to the story on TampaBay.com the jury started out split down the middle on Braley ’s responsibility for Shaddir’s death. Braley ’s attorney said the man was not responsible for Shaddir’s decision to leave his car on a busy highway. After 2 ½ hours all six jurors seemed to come to a consensus that Braley did not cause Shaddir’s death. Shaddir was drunk the night of his death as well but that fact was never revealed to the jury.

Braley was facing a severe jail sentence of as much as 15 years had he been convicted. With the felony reduced to a misdemeanor Braley is now facing just misdemeanor charges as this was his first DUI.

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