COURT HOUSE – A judge ruled that Hugo Michael Maucher, the defendant in a hit-and-run case that left an 80-year-old woman in an Upper Township roadway, will remain in jail pending trial. The victim died at the hospital shortly after the accident.
Judge J. Christopher Gibson granted prosecutors’ motion for pretrial detention in the case after a hearing in Cape May County Superior Court Jan. 12.
Maucher, 50, was charged with two second-degree crimes, including knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident resulting in death. He appeared in Courtroom C, wearing an orange jumpsuit, his movements restricted by handcuffs and leg shackles.
Maucher turned himself in five days after allegedly hitting the pedestrian, Marjorie Straubmuller, and leaving her in the middle of Stagecoach Road Dec. 29, 2022. Witnesses said a vehicle, which prosecutors now believe to be Maucher’s 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, fled the scene.
Scattered on Stagecoach Road, prosecutors said there was a red winter hat, a pair of shoes, damaged glasses, and blood, but no vehicle in sight. Investigators also found a beer bottle and a fast-food order, which they believe were left by the driver.
Prosecutor’s Argument
After the defense stipulated to probable cause, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dara Paley made the state’s argument for detention. Paley described to the judge the crash scene when investigators first arrived. In the detention hearing, which was delayed twice at the request of prosecutors, circumstantial evidence was presented, suggesting Maucher was drinking prior to the crash.
Prosecutors said Seaville Fire and Rescue Chief Steve Schaffer was first on scene and said he saw the pedestrian down in the roadway. Schaffer radioed that the driver may be under the influence of alcohol because he saw the Miller Lite pony bottle in the roadway and an empty beer carton.
“The question remains, why would this defendant flee?” Paley said, pointing out that based on the investigation, it does not appear Maucher was at fault in the accident because it appears the pedestrian was in the roadway, where the vehicle had the right of way.
“Why do people flee the scene of a motor vehicle accident? There are a couple of different answers. One: Driver’s unlicensed? That’s not Mr. Maucher. No insurance coverage? That’s not Mr. Maucher. Driving a stolen vehicle? Not Mr. Maucher. Driver doesn’t want his employer to know he was in a motor vehicle accident with the company car? That’s not Mr. Maucher. Driver is transporting illegal goods? That’s not Mr. Maucher. Common sense then only leaves us with one reason why people flee the scene from motor vehicle accident when they are not an at-fault driver: That they are under the influence of alcohol or another substance.”
Investigators also found a McDonald’s bag containing two empty Quarter Pounder with Cheese containers in the roadway, Paley said. Through surveillance footage, they were able to place a vehicle matching the description of Maucher’s gray 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee at the McDonald’s in Upper Township prior to the crash. They said they are still working to determine what else he did in the hours leading up to the accident.
In addition to the description witnesses gave of the driver, investigators were also able to get a partial tag number from them, as well as the make and color of the vehicle. The partial tag also matched Maucher’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
“He struck a defenseless octogenarian,” Paley said. “Instead of stopping, he continued his dangerous driving and left this elderly grandmother in the road to die alone. He left her to be potentially struck by other vehicles, subject to scavengers or whatever would happen from leaving this woman to die alone in a roadway. This shows an utter disregard for the value of human life. He only cared about saving himself.”
Paley did not respond to an interview request from the Herald.
Defense Argument
Asking the judge to release Maucher, so he can be home with his family while fighting the charges, defense lawyer John Tumelty argued Maucher has no criminal history, has a clean driving record and is not a risk of flight, a danger to the community, or likely to interfere with the state’s investigation.
He said his client wanted to turn himself in, even before a composite sketch of a suspect was released to the media.
“He and I went back and forth (the day after the accident) a number of times. I, of course, had explained to him the legal consequences, but he wanted to turn himself in immediately. Judge, we discussed that, and I had to do my job and explain to him what his exposure was. “Notwithstanding that, at the end of that day, by that evening, he and I spoke again, and he was absolutely committed to turning himself in,” Tumelty told the court.
Tumelty alerted prosecutors Dec. 31, 2022, that he was representing the driver. Still, it was not for three more days that Maucher surrendered.
“Your Honor, please understand, at this point, there had been no evidence released in the media whatsoever. No composite sketch, no indication that anybody saw Mr. Maucher and could identify him or anything else,” the lawyer added.
Tumelty said he was out of town over the holiday weekend, which is the reason for the delay in surrendering his client. He said in an interview after court it was his professional obligation to appear with the client and that he wouldn’t just tell him to go turn himself in while the lawyer was away. By the time they did appear, a composite sketch was out, along with a vehicle description.
“By Friday night, his decision was written in stone in his mind,” Tumelty argued to the judge. “He knew what his exposure was if he got found guilty of this second-degree crime. Judge, but he also knew there was a possibility that he would never be identified by the state police investigation. Here’s a man that did the right thing, knowing that if he just stayed home, remained silent and rode it out, the evidence may never get to the point where he could be identified… That shows a different character than the type of character who would run, or flee, or be a flight risk to the court.”
Maucher has ties to the community. He owns a home on Jill Avenue, in Marmora, where he lives with his wife, a teacher, and their 16-year-old daughter, Tumelty told the court. Maucher manages the Corinthian Yacht Club of Cape May and used to run the food services at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia for over a decade, his lawyer said. Prior to his time at St. Joseph’s, he owned Hugo’s Restaurant, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, he added.
“Legally, looking at the three factors – flight, risk to commit a crime and obstruction – really there is no reasonable risk of any of those factors applying,” Tumelty argued.
Legal Analysis
Alfonso Gambone, a New Jersey defense attorney, who is not a part of this case, said in an interview with the Herald that Maucher turning himself in was the smart thing to do, but the delay in doing so might cost him.
“When you’re dealing with a death, I tell a client, every hour you wait, it gets worse,” Gambone said. “It’s harder to argue that you turned yourself in because it was the right thing rather than that you did it because the law was closing down on you.”
According to Gambone, this is not an open-and-shut DUI case.
“You can’t buy beer at McDonald’s, so they would have to prove he had the beer already in his car. And this guy was 6-foot-5? How big was the beer?”
Even if his DNA is on the bottle, Gambone said the fact he had one beer doesn’t mean he was drunk at the time of the crash.
“The bad thing is he drove off. If he hadn’t have drove off, he probably wouldn’t have been charged,” Gambone said.
Gambone did not think the facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history made him a good candidate for detention.
“Given the fact there was a recommendation to release, where is the evidence that he’s a flight risk or a danger to the community? Outside of this one incident, tell me, where does he have any history?” he asked.
“I would have argued, he’s 50 years old, he’s never been in trouble before, then he hits this woman. Did he make a poor judgement call? Yes. But right now, we’re not at trial. We’re at whether he should be let out. Plus, where’s he going to go? … He’s obtained private counsel. What’s he going to do, run? There are people released every day on gun crimes in New Jersey who face mandatory-minimum sentences,” he added.
The Court’s Decision
The public safety assessment is a document generated using an algorithm to help a judge assess a defendant’s risk if released pretrial. The document examines a defendant’s criminal history, failures to appear and violence of the offenses. Maucher scored a 1:1, the lowest possible score, with a recommendation for release on his own recognizance (ROR).
Gibson said witness accounts, relayed to the court by Paley, which recalled seeing Maucher getting out of the vehicle, surveying the victim, then getting back in his car and driving off, were particularly persuasive to the court when determining if the state met its burden for detention.
In making his decision, Gibson said that although there is nothing in the defendant’s past to support it, based on the evidence from this incident alone, the judge believes Maucher presents a “danger to the community.”
“This is a rare circumstance, I’m sure subject to criticism, but in an ROR recommendation, with an individual who has no criminal history whatsoever, and no driving history whatsoever, the court is weighing that against the fact that, for whatever reason, the defendant gets out of the vehicle here, he sees the victim, he sees what he did with his car, and … he did choose at that time, even with witnesses nearby, to see the victim, see potentially fatal injuries to the victim, and get back in his car and leave the scene.
“That is the most significant factor for the court. Because of that decision, knowing what he was made aware of in that moment, deciding ultimately to leave the scene of this accident, even though no one knew it would result in a fatality until later, there is a sufficient basis for the court to find that the state has met its burden by clear and convincing evidence,” the judge said from the bench.
Gibson said potential alcohol consumption was not a factor in his decision based on the lack of evidence connecting Maucher to the bottle found at the scene. Prosecutors said they plan to use forensic evidence to try to tie him to the bottle.
Bail Reform
In 2017, New Jersey overhauled its bail system, effectively eliminating cash bail as a way to level the playing field for poor defendants who are stuck behind bars on low bails they can’t make for low-risk crimes.
“Bail reform, in some instances, works great in getting people out of jail. In other situations, the court’s decision – you can appeal – but the court’s decision is pretty much bulletproof, as long as the court considers the appropriate factors required by law. And if the judge does, the judge has a lot of discretion within the law in deciding whether to let somebody out or detain,” Tumelty said in an interview.
In this case, bail reform hurt the defendant, who likely would have received a bail under $100,000 for these charges.
“I think bail reform worked against him in this case,” Tumelty added. “I have no idea whether he had the funds or if they could have retained a bail bondsman to post the surety bond. So, there’s a lot of different dynamics in play pre-bail reform.”
What’s Next?
Maucher will be returned to Cape May County Correctional Facility, where he will likely remain until the case is adjudicated or resolved. He is expected back in court in mid-February for a pre-indictment conference.
In an interview, Tumelty said he thinks they will be able to come to a plea agreement with prosecutors. They must wait until the state finishes conducting its investigation. He said he met with Maucher after the hearing but wouldn’t talk about what was said, citing attorney-client privilege.
“I think we’ll resolve the case, and I think we’ll resolve the case relatively early on,” Tumelty said.
He did not make any indication that he plans to appeal the detention ruling and said he is not worried the state will find evidence of alcohol consumption, allowing them to upgrade the charges.
Readers are reminded that the above-named individual is presumed innocent, unless proven guilty.
To contact the reporter, Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 142.
Dennisville – As a parent of a Tech student it would be great if the school would update their staff directory. So many old staff still listed and no new teachers listed. What gives?
