COURT HOUSE – The court denied the most recent request to dismiss charges against the man accused of causing the deaths of two people during a pop-up car rally in Wildwood, Sept. 24, 2022.
“We’re close, but far from close enough to make that resolution,” Superior Court Judge Christopher Gibson said June 29.
“I don’t think we’re that far apart,” said defense attorney Alfonso Gambone, representing Gerald White, 37, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
White is charged with aggravated manslaughter, death by auto, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, aggravated assault, eluding police, and assault by auto in violation of drunk driving laws.
Authorities alleged that White, while operating his vehicle at a high rate of speed, struck a Honda Civic occupied by Timothy Ogden, and continued onto the sidewalk where he struck Lindsay Weakland. Both Ogden and Weakland died from their injuries.
Gibson scheduled White’s next court appearance for Aug. 10 to give Gambone more time to discuss the plea deal with county prosecutors.
Speaking outside the courtroom, Gambone said he asked for the dismissal because he believes the grand jury was tainted based on the pretrial publicity of the accident.
“I’m not taking exception to the testimony or the judge’s decision; I just believe the grand jury is potentially not unbiased in this case. Information about the matter was widely circulated in the media,” Gambone said.
At this point, the prosecution has offered a plea agreement for White to serve 44 years in prison – two 22-year terms served consecutively. Gambone said his client rejected the plea agreement, Feb. 16, as reported by the Herald.
“At this point, the matter is headed for trial,” Gambone said.
The case involves an accident that occurred on Atlantic Avenue in Wildwood, where Wildwood Police Department (WPD) officers attempted to stop White’s vehicle, but he allegedly fled at a high rate of speed before colliding with the Honda Civic in which Ogden was a passenger. The driver, Sarah Farmer, and another pedestrian, Giovanni Cianicolo, were injured but not fatally. White was taken into custody by an off-duty correctional officer.
The matter went to a grand jury Dec. 20, 2022, and returned an 18-count indictment against White.
Gambone is arguing that the indictment is palpably defective, which is a standard for dismissal, saying there are grounds for dismissal based on the information circulated prior to the grand jury’s decision to indict.
Gambone cited the New Jersey Grand Jury Manual, which says any juror who has knowledge of the facts of a case should bring this to the attention of the jury foreman and disqualify him or herself.
The prosecutor, he said, also has an obligation to note the existence of possible prejudice or bias on the part of a grand juror.
Gambone said there is nothing in the grand jury transcript that proves that the prosecutor asked the grand jurors if they were familiar with any of the victim’s family members, the detective in the case, the Wildwood Police Department or anyone else connected to the case or had heard about the allegations based on news stories and if those stories would have affected their judgment.
Assistant Prosecutor Saverio Carroccia is the prosecutor assigned to the case. He was not immediately available for comment after the hearing.
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