HEMPSTEAD WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AND MANSLAUGHTER

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced the guilty plea of Shawnet Earle, 32, of Hempstead, for driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, veering off the roadway, and killing Blanche Pope, 60, of Wheatley Heights, who was walking on the side of the road less than a mile from her home.

“This tragedy could have been avoided if the defendant, who was not supposed to be driving due to a suspended license, did not drive drunk and high,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Instead, this defendant chose to endanger Suffolk County residents through her egregious conduct and in the process caused the death of Blanche Pope, an innocent individual who was simply walking in her neighborhood.”

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during her guilty plea allocution, on August 6, 2021, shortly after midnight, Earle left a bar in Suffolk County where she had been drinking alcohol. Earle was driving eastbound on Main Street in Wheatley Heights, when she left the roadway, knocked over a traffic sign, and struck Pope, who was walking on the side of the road. Pope was thrown approximately 100 feet and pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the collision, Earle’s license had been suspended for failure to answer summonses. When interviewed by police, Earle exhibited signs of intoxication, made admissions to drinking alcohol and performed poorly on field sobriety tests. A sample of Earle’s blood was obtained approximately five hours after the crash revealing a blood alcohol concentration of .21%, more than double the legal limit, as well as high levels of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

During the pendency of this case, Earle was arrested in Nassau County on January 26, 2023 and subsequently indicted by a Nassau County Grand Jury for the crimes of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony, Aggravated Criminal Contempt, a Class D violent felony, Criminal Contempt in the First Degree, a Class E felony, and Criminal Obstruction of Breathing, a Class A misdemeanor. Those charges are still pending.

On April 11, 2023, Earle pleaded guilty before County Court Judge, the Honorable Stephen L Braslow, to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony; Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony; Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an Unclassified misdemeanor; and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Combined Influence of Alcohol and Drugs, an Unclassified Misdemeanor. Earle is due back in court on May 24, 2023 and is expected to be sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. She is being represented by Nicholas Ramcharitar, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Curtin of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.

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Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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