COURT HOUSE – The man accused of killing two people as a result of his conduct behind the wheel during an unauthorized car rally that took over the streets of Wildwood last year is expected to plead guilty Wednesday, Dec. 6, in Cape May County Superior Court.
During a hearing on Friday, Nov. 17, a lawyer for the defendant, Gerald White, told the judge a tentative resolution has been reached in the case, which would avoid a trial that had been scheduled for February. White is accused of killing an occupant of another vehicle he crashed into and running over and killing a pedestrian after losing control of the 2003 Infiniti he was driving while fleeing from Wildwood police on Sept. 24, 2022.
While terms of the expected plea agreement were not put on the record in court, Alfonso Gambone, White’s attorney, told the Herald after court that the state agreed to recommend a sentence of 25 years in state prison following his negotiations with prosecutors.
“We’ve agreed to accept responsibility for what occurred. The state’s position is that he should receive a sentence of 25 years for it. And while we agree that we’re expected to enter a guilty plea, we have a disagreement as far as the length of the sentence,” Gambone told the Herald.
He said in an interview he will argue at sentencing for a shorter state prison term based on several mitigating factors, but that this is not an open plea, and he would likely be able to withdraw his client’s guilty plea if Judge J. Christopher Gibson decides on anything beyond the 25-year recommendation of prosecutors. Gambone said he did not want to disclose the amount of prison time he plans to argue for.
The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, which means, under state law, White would have to serve 85% of the prison term before becoming parole-eligible. The defendant was 37 years old at the time of the incident and would get credit for time he’s already spent in jail, allowing him to become parole-eligible when he is 58 if he is sentenced to all 25 years prosecutors are seeking.
First Assistant Prosecutor Saverio Carroccia, who is handling the case for the state, did not respond to a reporter’s inquiry to confirm the 25-year recommendation after court Nov. 17. He did tell the judge the two sides were “much closer to a resolution.”
White, who has been in county jail since the incident, was not in court for the brief hearing in front of Presiding Judge Bernard E. DeLury Jr. The case is assigned to Gibson, but was listed for a conference with DeLury, who oversees the Superior Court’s criminal part in the Atlantic and Cape May County vicinage.
In an 18-count indictment handed up by a county grand jury last December, White was charged for the two deaths in two first-degree vehicular homicide counts and four counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter – two counts for causing the deaths under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life and two counts because he caused the deaths while eluding police.
He is accused of killing two people – Lindsay Weakland, 18, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Timothy Ogden, 34, of Clayton – after he fled as police made contact with him following a different accident he was allegedly involved in just prior to the fatal crash.
Prosecutors say White then lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the Honda Civic occupied by Ogden and then hit Weakland and another pedestrian at the intersection of Burk and Atlantic avenues around 9:36 p.m. He was in Wildwood for the unauthorized H2oi car rally, which brought over 500 vehicles to town, many of which were souped up and accessorized for street racing.
Weakland was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ogden was pronounced dead after being transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. A second occupant of the car Ogden was in, Sarah Farmer, was transported to the hospital but survived. Giovanni Cianciolo, another pedestrian, was also injured in the crash and went to the hospital but also survived, according to court filings. The extent of the injuries the two survivors suffered is not clear.
Gambone said as part of the plea, White is expected to accept guilt for two counts of aggravated manslaughter, with sentences running concurrent.
In addition to the six first-degree counts, White was also indicted on 12 other charges, including 10 second-degree counts – two for knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving death, two for violation of a public health and safety law, two for assault by auto, three for aggravated assault and one for eluding police – and two third-degree counts, both for knowingly leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury.
On the night of Sept. 24, 2022, Wildwood police witnessed a vehicle crash in the 4000 block of Atlantic Avenue, according to an affidavit of probable cause in the case. Officers made contact with the driver, later identified as White, who ignored commands and fled the scene in his vehicle at a high rate of speed, according to law enforcement.
Soon after, officers were called to 4600 Atlantic Ave., after a report of a multiple car and multiple pedestrian motor vehicle crash that they later discovered White caused, the probable cause affidavit states. White again fled the scene before being apprehended, the affidavit continued. He was taken into custody by an off-duty corrections officer, according to court records.
The case had been listed for trial after the defense rejected a previous plea offer of 44 years in prison – 22-year sentences for each of the deaths, which would have run consecutively.
“The initial offer from the state was a non-starter because, at that point, there’s no benefit to pleading. There’s no real risk of going to trial and losing, because had you gone to trial and lost, you would receive pretty much the same sentence,” Gambone told the Herald, adding he acknowledged the case against his client was strong.
The attorney said that White will speak at sentencing and that he expects the victims’ family members to address the court as well.
“He’s just remorseful for what occurred,” Gambone said. “I think he’s just going to focus on the fact that nothing he can do can bring these people back. He’s going to serve his sentence and when he’s released, he’s going to try to live the rest of his life recognizing the fact that he killed two people. That’s going to stay with him for the rest of his life.”
White is due back in court Dec. 6, where it is expected the plea agreement will be placed on the record. He will be expected to testify to a factual basis for the charges he is pleading guilty to.
If the judge accepts the plea, a sentencing date will be scheduled and a presentence investigation into the defendant will be conducted by probation. At sentencing, victim-impact statements will be heard, White will have his opportunity to address the court, Gambone can argue his mitigating factors, and the prosecutor can argue for the sentence he is recommending.
Contact the author, Shay Roddy, at sroddy@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 142.
