By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
LANCASTER – A judge has denied a bail hearing for Volodymyr Zhukovskyy siding with prosecutors who said he had fentanyl, heroin and a metabolite of cocaine in his system when his truck collided with a group of bikers last summer in Randolph.
Seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club were killed in the horrific crash.
Zhukovskyy’s lawyers Jay Duguay and Steve Mirkin argued there was important new information from the state that showed its original version of the crash was “deeply flawed” in motioning for a bail hearing.
They said Zhukovskyy, a Ukrainian national who is a longterm, permanent resident of the United States, would agree not to drive, surrender his passport and live with his parents in West Springfield, Mass.
But Coos Superior Court Judge Peter Bornstein on Tuesday denied the motion for a bail hearing citing the state’s objection in which prosecutors argued none of the new information has any legal impact on the bail considerations.
The information also doesn’t change “the fact that the defendant was impaired on June 21, 2019; that one month prior to the crash he was released on bail for another charge of driving while under the influence of suspected drugs; and that the defendant’s criminal history proves that he is a danger, and preventative detention is the only way the court can ensure the safety of the public and the defendant,” according to an objection to the motion filed by Coos County Attorney John McCormick, Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Maki and Department of Justice Attorney Shane Goudas.
Defendants can be held on preventative bail if the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that release will endanger the safety of the person or public.
Prosecutors detailed Zhukovskyy’s history of drug use and criminal behavior in arguing against a hearing, saying, too, he is a flight risk because ICE has an active deportation order on him, and he has immediate family in the Ukraine.
According to Duguay’s motion for a bail hearing, State Police originally determined that the initial point of impact occurred between Zhukovskyy’s truck, which was towing a flatbed trailer, and Albert Mazza’s motorcycle, and concluded the trailer was 1.5 feet over the center line into eastbound lane of travel at the time of impact. Mazza, president of the motorcycle club, was killed in the crash.
“The state recently disclosed a report from the Crash Labs, an independent accident reconstruction firm, which shows that the State Police CAR Team’s initial assessment was deeply flawed….,” Duguay wrote.
“The new report found that the point of impact did not occur in the eastbound lane of travel. The report concludes that the initial impact occurred between the left side of Mr. Mazza’s motorcycle and the left front tire of Mr. Zhukovskyy’s truck. Critically, they determined that the impact occurred directly over the center line and that Mr. Mazza’s motorcycle was in fact protruding over onto the center line when it struck the truck,” the motion states.
Duguay argued that the new documents had substantially altered the original information available earlier in the case.
“Finally, autopsy reports show that at the time of the crash, Mr. Mazza’s blood alcohol concentration was .135, well in excess of the statutory per se limit of impairment of .08,” the motion states.
Criminal Charges
Zhukovskyy, who has pleaded not guilty, has been indicted on the following charges: seven manslaughter, seven impaired negligent homicide, seven negligent homicide, aggravated DWI and reckless conduct with deadly weapon.
“The information provided by the Crash Lab’s findings still demonstrate that the defendant was not operating within his appropriate lane of travel at the time he collided with the first motorcycle, before his truck and trailer traveled into the oncoming lane of travel striking, killing and maiming additional motorcyclists,” according to the state’s objection.
Also, according to the state, Zhukovskyy told police that he had consumed two “superman” branded baggies of heroin and a half gram of cocaine the morning of the crash.
“Moreover the defendant admitted in a later interview with police that at the time of the collision he diverted his attention from the road and oncoming traffic and was attempting to retrieve an object from the center console of his truck when he drove left of the double yellow line and into the oncoming motorcyclist,” the objection states.
At Coos County House of Corrections, where Zhukovskyy is being held without bail, he asked for medical attention saying he was detoxing from alcohol and heroin, said he is an alcoholic and drinks a bottle of Hennessy every day and 10 quarter sized bags of heroin, prosecutors said.
“Based on this information alone, there is sufficient proof to order the defendant held without bail, but there is more,” according to the state.
At the time of the crash Zhukovskyy was on bail of a $2,500 non-surety bond for another criminal charge of driving under the influence in East Windsor, Conn. on May 11, 2019; pleaded to sufficient facts on Jan. 10, 2014, to support conviction of operating under influence of liquor in West Springfield, Mass., in which he drove through a stop sign and hit a parked vehicle on the opposite side of road.
On March 21, 2019, he pleaded guilty to possession of heroin and cocaine and was arrested Feb. 11, 2019, arrested in Baytown, Texas for possession of drug paraphernalia, the objection states.
“Based on the facts surrounding the crash on June 21, 2019, the fact that the defendant was on bail, the defendant’s drug use, and his prior criminal history, it is clear that only preventative detention will be sufficient to protect the public and the defendant,” the state said.
