McCullen

McCullen

<p>Bannerman</p>

Bannerman

A Sampson man has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for causing a June 2020 fatal wreck, in which he struck a pedestrian while driving impaired. He was also ordered to pay restitution to the family of the man, who was standing in his driveway when he was hit.

Robert Eugene McCullen, II, 56, of Timothy Road, Dunn, pled guilty to felonious death by vehicle in Sampson County Superior Court for causing the death of Angel DeJesus Consola Polo, 31, of OBJ Road, Dunn. Felonious death by vehicle is the unintentional death of a person due to impaired driving. The guilty plea was entered on March 25.

Judge Henry L. Stevens IV, Resident Superior Court Judge, sentenced McCullen to an active prison sentence of a minimum of 66 months and a maximum of 92 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. He was also ordered to make restitution to Consola Polo’s family of $12,347.45.

While in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, McCullen is to undergo a medical evaluation and participate in substance abuse treatment.

State’s evidence showed that shortly before 1 a.m. June 21, Trooper J.F. Smith with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol was called to respond to a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian on OBJ Road near Timothy Road. When Smith arrived, he observed a burgundy Chevrolet truck stopped in the southbound lane of OBJ Road facing north. When the trooper approached the truck, he could see Consola Polo’s body underneath the truck. Consola Polo’s uncle was on scene and identified him; the trooper also located a work visa on his person identifying him.

Trooper Smith observed that McCullen’s eyes were red and glassy, his speech was slurred and he swayed when he walked, according to the evidence. In discussion with the trooper, McCullen admitted he was drunk. He provided breath samples on the scene and was positive for the presence of alcohol.

According to reports, McCullen was travelling north on OBJ Road, crossed the centerline, travelled off the left side of the roadway and drove roughly 120 feet along the shoulder of the road before striking Consola Polo, who was standing in his driveway. Consola Polo was dragged more than 100 feet before McCullen stopped his truck in the roadway.

McCullen’s blood alcohol content was determined to be .11, above the .08 limit established by North Carolina statute.

District Attorney Ernie Lee credited the Highway Patrol investigation, calling the case tragic. He said his office would continue to prosecute impaired driving incidents to the full extent possible. The state was represented by Assistant District Attorney Robert N. Thigpen.

“Consola Polo’s death is tragic and should have been avoided,” Lee said in a prepared statement. “Had the defendant simply not driven while impaired this likely would not have occurred. Because of the defendant’s actions of getting behind the wheel after drinking, a family is needlessly without a husband, father, and a son. For those cases we are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, this office will continue to prosecute those who drive while impaired on the highways of this district since they are a danger to others, themselves and the public.”

Habitual felon gets six years

In a separate impaired driving case earlier in March, a Clinton man was sentenced to more than six years after wrecking his car while driving the wrong way on Faircloth Freeway. He was found to have a blood alcohol level of more than three times the legal limit.

Erick Gerrod Bannerman, 32, of Hobbton Highway, Clinton, pled guilty to habitual impaired driving, attaining habitual felon status, and obtaining property by false pretenses. The guilty plea was entered on March 9 in Sampson County Superior Court.

Habitual impaired driving is when a defendant is charged with impaired driving but has been convicted of three prior offenses of impaired driving within the previous 10 years. A habitual felon is a person who is charged with a felony offense but has previously been convicted of at least three prior felonies. Upon conviction of being a habitual felon, the defendant’s sentence is enhanced.

Judge Stevens also presided over that case, and consolidated the offenses for judgment. He sentenced Bannerman to an active prison sentence of a minimum of 77 months and a maximum of 105 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. The state was represented by Thigpen in this case as well.

The state’s evidence showed that just after 10 p.m on Sept. 22, 2018, Sgt. Donald Carter with the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office stopped a vehicle on Sunset Avenue in Clinton because he observed it driving north in the southbound lanes of the Faircloth Freeway.

Carter noticed the defendant’s speech to be slurred, he was very “loose” in his movements, there was a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. Cpl. Mark Horne with the Clinton Police Department also detected the odors. Bannerman conceded he had been drinking and, when he exited the vehicle, Horne had to help him stand up and assit him to the patrol car to keep him from falling, evidence showed.

Clinton Police Sgt. Ariel Nunez was also on scene and was dispatched to a possible “roll over” vehicle wreck at the exit of U.S. 421 at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. When Nunez arrived, he was unable to locate a vehicle, but noticed damage to a guard rail. The officers noticed that Bannerman’s vehicle had extensive damage to its left side and concluded that the defendant had entered U.S. 421 going the wrong way, northbound in the southbound lane, struck the guard rail, and drove off.

Bannerman refused medical treatment and was taken to the Sampson County Detention Center.

A sample of his blood was taken and the North Carolina State Crime lab, which determined his blood alcohol content was .28, more than three times the limit of .08.

Bannerman has previously been convicted of impaired driving on three occasions, all in 2010, in Sampson County District Court. He’d previously been convicted of the felonies of possession with the intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver marijuana on two occasions, March 2006 and January 2008, and selling marijuana in October 2014, all in Sampson Superior Court.

The defendant failed to appear when his case was called for hearing in August 2019, and had been the subject of an outstanding order for arrest until he was apprehended in November 2020.

Lee reiterated his office’s strong stance in impaired driving cases, while thanking the Sheriff’s Office and Clinton Police for their investigative work.

“This office takes impaired driving offenses seriously and will seek to prosecute those people who get behind the wheel and drive after they have been drinking,” the district attorney stated. “Fortunately, there were no injuries or deaths resulting from this defendant’s offenses.“