KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas – The intoxication manslaughter trial of a Kaufman County man began this morning in Kaufman County's 422nd District Court.
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34-year-old Warren Ray Patton Jr., is facing one count of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and one count for manslaughter for an accident on June 9, 2012, which resulted in the death of off-duty Dallas County Constable Guy Farley.
The proceedings began this morning at 9 a.m. in the absence of the jury as 422nd District Court Judge B. Michael Chitty ruled on the admissibility of toxicology evidence presented in a “Daubert” hearing on Monday afternoon. Chitty ruled blood and urine tests conducted at Parkland Hospital would be admissible.
Warren Ray Patton Jr. pled not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors allege Patton was intoxicated on the night of June 9, 2012, when he crossed over the center line of Farm-to-Market (FM) 741 in his BMW and struck Farley's Chevy Silverado head-on – which resulted in Farley's death.
The Accident
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Justin Schumann was on patrol the night of the accident with then-trainee Trooper Everest Leonard who were completing a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 175 near the FM 741 exit when they received a dispatch for the accident on FM 741.
Schumann presented a diagram to the jury showing Patton was traveling southbound on FM 741 when he crossed the center line of the road and struck Farley's truck which was traveling northbound. Skid marks and gouges in the roadway indicate the impact of the two vehicles was in the northbound lane.
Jerry Nelson Jr. was also traveling southbound on FM 741 before the accident. Nelson testified Patton's vehicle was tailgating his vehicle prior to the accident and attempted unsuccessfully to pass his vehicle several times on the winding stretch of FM 741 – at one point leaving the roadway into the shoulder.
As Nelson and Patton neared U.S. Highway 175, Patton successfully passed Nelson and re-entered the southbound lane, according to Nelson. About a quarter mile later, however, Nelson states he witnessed Patton's taillights cross the center line of the road and strike Farley's truck. Nelson also observed Farley was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
While doing an inventory of Patton's vehicle following the accident, Trooper Schumann photographed and testified to finding two broken beer bottles, additional beer bottles which remained intact, and bottles of xanax, oxycontin, and alprazolam on the passenger's seat and on the floorboard on the passenger's side of the Patton's vehicle.
The Toxicology Results
Blood and urine tests conducted at Parkland Hospital two hours after the accident indicated a .086 blood alcohol content level for Patton as well as the existence of benzodiazepines – a group of controlled substances consisting of, among other drugs, Xanax or Valium.
Dr. Steve Gibbons, an orthopaedic surgeon at Parkland Hospital, treated Patton after the accident. Gibbons testified, based on his own personal observation, Patton appeared to be “drunk.” Gibbons stated a CT scan which showed no head trauma and toxicology results affirmed his findings.
Defense attorney Brandi Fernandez argued the validity of the toxicology results stating the release of the medical records in the legal matter was a violation of Patton's privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Fernandez also argued several points in the record which indicated the wrong name, age, weight, smoking preference, and marital status more than a dozen times.
The prosecution presented three witnesses who stated the patient's name and other identifying information could change several times during the course of the patient's treatment but one thing remained constant – the patient's medical record number.
The patient's medical record number is a unique identifying number given to the patient before any treatments, exams, labs, surgeries, or other medical procedures could begin, according to Lily Solis, a registered nurse who also treated Patton during his time at Parkland Hospital.
Also, Fernandez questioned the validity of the toxicology results based on a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services investigation of Parkland Hospital at the time of Patton's treatment. The investigation focused on patient safety, adequate staffing, hygiene, records, and billing, according to Fernandez who stated there was room for potential error.
Karen Jessen, a clinical laboratory specialist at Parkland Hospital's Central Lab, testified to the methodology and reliability of the machines used at Parkland Hospital stating they are acceptable practices in the science community and the machines are used nationwide.
All three witnesses agreed there was a potential for error when manually entering the patient's information but all remained stern concerning the medical record number remaining constant. None of the witnesses could identify the nurse who drew Patton's blood or took his urine sample.
The Tattoo Parlor
Ernest Hays, a Greenville, Texas, tattoo artist, testified statements Patton made while at his parlor. According to Hays, Patton visited the parlor on June 9, 2012, and did not appear to be intoxicated.
However, five to six months later, Patton returned to the parlor, this time with a limp. When Hays asked about the limp, Patton stated, “I killed a [expletive]cop.” Hays also testified Patton stated he left the parlor on June 9 and went to his cousin's house where he “got [expletive] wasted” and didn't remember the accident.
If convicted , Patton faces a two to 20 year sentence in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The trial, which is expected to last five days, will continue Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the 422nd District Court.
The proceedings began this morning at 9 a.m. in the absence of the jury as 422nd District Court Judge B. Michael Chitty ruled on the admissibility of toxicology evidence presented in a “Daubert” hearing on Monday afternoon. Chitty ruled blood and urine tests conducted at Parkland Hospital would be admissible.
Warren Ray Patton Jr. pled not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors allege Patton was intoxicated on the night of June 9, 2012, when he crossed over the center line of Farm-to-Market (FM) 741 in his BMW and struck Farley's Chevy Silverado head-on – which resulted in Farley's death.
The Accident
Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Justin Schumann was on patrol the night of the accident with then-trainee Trooper Everest Leonard who were completing a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 175 near the FM 741 exit when they received a dispatch for the accident on FM 741.
Schumann presented a diagram to the jury showing Patton was traveling southbound on FM 741 when he crossed the center line of the road and struck Farley's truck which was traveling northbound. Skid marks and gouges in the roadway indicate the impact of the two vehicles was in the northbound lane.
Jerry Nelson Jr. was also traveling southbound on FM 741 before the accident. Nelson testified Patton's vehicle was tailgating his vehicle prior to the accident and attempted unsuccessfully to pass his vehicle several times on the winding stretch of FM 741 – at one point leaving the roadway into the shoulder.
As Nelson and Patton neared U.S. Highway 175, Patton successfully passed Nelson and re-entered the southbound lane, according to Nelson. About a quarter mile later, however, Nelson states he witnessed Patton's taillights cross the center line of the road and strike Farley's truck. Nelson also observed Farley was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
While doing an inventory of Patton's vehicle following the accident, Trooper Schumann photographed and testified to finding two broken beer bottles, additional beer bottles which remained intact, and bottles of xanax, oxycontin, and alprazolam on the passenger's seat and on the floorboard on the passenger's side of the Patton's vehicle.
The Toxicology Results
Blood and urine tests conducted at Parkland Hospital two hours after the accident indicated a .086 blood alcohol content level for Patton as well as the existence of benzodiazepines – a group of controlled substances consisting of, among other drugs, Xanax or Valium.
Dr. Steve Gibbons, an orthopaedic surgeon at Parkland Hospital, treated Patton after the accident. Gibbons testified, based on his own personal observation, Patton appeared to be “drunk.” Gibbons stated a CT scan which showed no head trauma and toxicology results affirmed his findings.
Defense attorney Brandi Fernandez argued the validity of the toxicology results stating the release of the medical records in the legal matter was a violation of Patton's privacy rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
Fernandez also argued several points in the record which indicated the wrong name, age, weight, smoking preference, and marital status more than a dozen times.
The prosecution presented three witnesses who stated the patient's name and other identifying information could change several times during the course of the patient's treatment but one thing remained constant – the patient's medical record number.
The patient's medical record number is a unique identifying number given to the patient before any treatments, exams, labs, surgeries, or other medical procedures could begin, according to Lily Solis, a registered nurse who also treated Patton during his time at Parkland Hospital.
Also, Fernandez questioned the validity of the toxicology results based on a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services investigation of Parkland Hospital at the time of Patton's treatment. The investigation focused on patient safety, adequate staffing, hygiene, records, and billing, according to Fernandez who stated there was room for potential error.
Karen Jessen, a clinical laboratory specialist at Parkland Hospital's Central Lab, testified to the methodology and reliability of the machines used at Parkland Hospital stating they are acceptable practices in the science community and the machines are used nationwide.
All three witnesses agreed there was a potential for error when manually entering the patient's information but all remained stern concerning the medical record number remaining constant. None of the witnesses could identify the nurse who drew Patton's blood or took his urine sample.
The Tattoo Parlor
Ernest Hays, a Greenville, Texas, tattoo artist, testified statements Patton made while at his parlor. According to Hays, Patton visited the parlor on June 9, 2012, and did not appear to be intoxicated.
However, five to six months later, Patton returned to the parlor, this time with a limp. When Hays asked about the limp, Patton stated, “I killed a [expletive]cop.” Hays also testified Patton stated he left the parlor on June 9 and went to his cousin's house where he “got [expletive] wasted” and didn't remember the accident.
If convicted , Patton faces a two to 20 year sentence in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
The trial, which is expected to last five days, will continue Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the 422nd District Court.