Soldier's jail sentence reduced to one month in fatal DWI hit and run case
FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) -- A Fort Bragg soldier sentenced to two months in jail for a fatal drunk driving hit and run will have his sentence cut in half for good behavior.
"People that don't kill anybody are in jail for years and he's not even a month," said the victim's daughter, Cindy Ferguson. "It's sad. It makes you feel like there is no justice."
Three weeks ago, Sergeant First Class David Hall pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DWI and felony hit and run for the 2013 accident that killed 54-year-old David Keller, who was driving his motorcycle.
Prosecutors said Hall was returning home from a sex party when he ran a red light and hit Keller at the intersection of Skibo and Morganton roads.
Keller was on his way to work as a correctional officer and survived for five hours after the accident. Hall's airbags deployed, but he told investigators he was so drunk he didn't know what he had hit.
Following the accident, Hall took his Cadillac Escalade to a local dealership for repairs and returned to work at Fort Bragg. The dealership tipped off police, leading to Hall's arrest three days later.
For two and half years, Hall remained on active duty status with the military and wore a monitoring bracelet.
On September 10, Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Tally sentenced Hall to jail for the misdemeanor DWI charge, but opted for five years' probation on the felony hit and run charge.
Hall had no prior record.
This week, the Department of Public Safety confirmed Hall's Thursday early release, saying he'd received credit for nine days served immediately before the plea hearing and the remainder of his jail sentence was cut in half for good behavior.
The move was allowed under the old North Carolina Fair Sentencing Act, according the DPS spokesman Keith Acree.
Law enforcement officers had recommended a second-degree murder charge for Hall following the accident, which would have led to more jail time.
This week, Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said the state didn't have the evidence necessary to prove malice. In other words, because Hall had no prior convictions, the state said they could not pursue the murder charge.
It's unclear what Hall's blood alcohol level was at the time of the accident, but witnesses from the party he attended said Hall had refused offers from sober drivers and wanted to take himself home.
Frank Harris, the director of state government affairs for Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Washington said Hall's case sends "mixed messages about how serious the state of North Carolina is taking drunk driving."
Harris said lenient sentences should not be handed down based on prior records when it involves fatal drunk driving accidents.
"The majority of people who kill others in drunk driving accidents have no prior convictions if you look back just three years," said Harris. "I mean, the notion that people killing others in drunk driving accidents are repeat offenders is completely false and it only takes driving drunk once to kill somebody."
West wouldn't weigh in too much regarding the sentence, but said he was unaware it had been reduced.
He also said that portion of the process is up to the Department of Corrections, and he supported Tally in sentencing on the misdemeanor charge in the case versus the felony charge.
"I respect the judge's judgement," West said over the phone.
Keller's family said the entire two and half year process to resolve the criminal case was full of disappointment. She said the family rarely heard from prosecutors, and when they did, they were assured there would be no plea deal.
Early on in the ordeal, the family said they were also advised by other attorneys that pursing a civil lawsuit against Hall would be pointless because they Army originally planned to discharge him.
The Army ended up allowing Hall, an 18-year veteran at the time of the accident, to work until he received 20 years to retire from the service with full benefits.
Keller's family found out about the change from prosecutors shortly before the Cumberland County hearing. Their statute of limitations on pursing a civil suit had already expired.
"It's just the people we thought were supposed to be helping us through this were against us essentially," said Ferguson. "That's how we feel."
"It's very alarming," said Harris. "And a three week sentence - it's just unacceptable, especially when the victims of this violent crime in this case are left with a life sentence."
