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A San Ramon attorney charged with running down and killing a man in Dublin is apparently not happy with a plea deal being offered by prosecutors.
Spencer Freeman Smith was due to have a preliminary hearing on charges of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter on Monday. Instead, he is asking for a judge to get involved in plea bargain negotiations with the hope of getting a better deal.
Prosecutor Rebecca Warren said she’s prohibited from discussing what deal was offered; Smith’s attorney, Dionne Choice, would not comment.
Smith’s case has been stalled for more than a year. He was arrested May 17, 2012, in a nighttime crash that killed Bo Hu, 57, also of San Ramon.
Hu was either walking his bike or riding northbound on Dougherty Road near Fall Creek Road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Smith was charged after police in Dublin traced parts from his black 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 found at the scene through the dealership.
“Our officers responded and they collected three vehicle parts that were left at the scene,” said Dublin police Lt. Herb Walters at the time. “Each part has a serial number on it. They found that it belonged to a Mercedes.”
Witnesses contacted police while they were waiting for a court order requiring the dealership to give them information to track the parts.
A search warrant at Smith’s home showed the car, with extensive front end and windshield damage. Walters said the damage matched the parts recovered at the scene.
Since his arrest, the case has been postponed at least six times. His sole appearance so far has been to enter a not guilty plea, where he said nothing but a few whispered words to his attorney at his appearance last June.
A special attorney was appointed by the court to examine items seized in the police investigation that Smith claimed he needed for clients.
Smith, who lives in San Ramon, remains free on bail. He is a partner at the San Francisco firm of Smith Patten, where he practices employment law.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 28 in Hayward, where a judge will weigh in on the plea deal.
Unbelievable…this guy is a lawyer so let’s hope he has already been disbarred. He hits and kills a bicyclist which causes major damage to his Mercedes…then flees the scene without stopping or reporting the collision. He runs like the coward he is and hides in his house. Now he wants a deal? Could you imagine being the cyclists family and hearing this? As an attorney this driver should be held to a higher standard as he has a clear understanding of all applicable laws. Shame on you! Throw the book at him!
Tragic loss of life. RIP
Allow justice to take its course.
Mike
Truth: I couldn’t have said it better. In fact throw a stack of books at him!!
IF justice prevails,
you can always appeal!
Completely agree with the post by “Truth.” This is nothing more than abuse of the legal system. What a coward. This family deserves justice. I pray they get it. And then some.
Let’s see…he hit someone, he didn’t stop to aid the victim, he flees (probably so he has time to get the alcohol out of his system), he hides his car and now he doesn’t like the deal they offer him? And he calls himself an attorney?
He should be dis-barred for not rendering aid and for fleeing. He should go to prison for vehicular manslaughter.
What a despicable human being.
Can’t believe the law office keeps him?
Yes, as others have stated, lawyers should be held to the highest of standards. But if anyone is going to know exactly how to play the system, it’s an attorney.
Even though the police eventually managed to locate the accused, by fleeing the scene, he succeeded in avoiding a DUI and almost certainly the most severe of charges.
He and his legal team have already managed to have the case postponed numerous times. And, it seems to me, to have kept the case almost totally out of the media since last June. Until now.
Thus the initial public outrage has been skillfully quashed.
I don’t think that there will be true justice for the cruelly-slain cyclist and his publicity-shy family.
But I really hope I’m wrong.
Wow, hope this scum pays dearly for his lack of regard for his actions.