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Goodman trial now in jury's hands

Polo Club founder could face 30 years in prison if convicted

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jurors in the John Goodman DUI manslaughter trial have begun their deliberations.  

There are two main issues they have to consider: Was John Goodman drunk on the night Goodman was involved in a wreck that led to the drowning of another driver in a canal? And, did he run the stop sign because of it?

During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors said the answer to both questions is yes. 

"He plowed through stop sign and pushed that little car in the canal and let that boy drown," said prosecutor Ellen Roberts. 

During the state's closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors to use their common sense.

John Goodman testified he only had four drinks over the course of that night in February 2010 and that he wasn't drunk when he got behind he wheel of his Bentley. He also said that his expensive car malfunctioned before it slammed into Scott Wilson's car and pushed it into a canal, where the 21-year-old recent college graduate drowned. 

"Do you really think Bentley, or any other company, would produce a car like that?" Roberts said. 

Prosecutors told jurors not to believe the expensive automobile experts Goodman hired and said his story about how he found a bottle of alcohol in a barn and drank it as he searched for a phone to call 911 after the crash, just doesn't make sense, not when his entire evening was spent partying with close friends. 

"This is one ounce," said prosecutor Sherri Collins as she held up a glass with a small amount of blue liquid in it. "Did Kris Kampsen pour this amount and only this amount into the shot glass he poured John Goodman that night? Common sense will tell your probably not." 

But, famed criminal defense attorney Roy Black delivered a convincing closing argument.  

"This is a courtroom. We follow rules," Black told the jury during his 90-minute closing argument.

Black said jurors can't assume Goodman drank more than witnesses testified. He said they can't ignore data from Bentley's computer, and he said they shouldn't question the actions of man who was just injured in a horrible wreck.  

"Who wouldn't have their head spinning after such a serious crash? Is it so irrational to think a person in this pain would take a drink?" Black said.

Goodman is facing up to 30 years in prison if he's convicted on all counts. Jurors will resume their deliberations on Friday at 8 a.m.


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