Lexington manslaughter suspect denied lower bond. Police explain sobriety test delay.
A Lexington man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to second-degree manslaughter in a crash that killed a motorcyclist, and he unsuccessfully tried to get a smaller bond based on his blood-alcohol test results.
Matthew Starling, 30, was driving on Richmond Road Monday night when he turned in front of 25-year-old Daezon Morgan, who was on a motorcycle traveling inbound about 8:50 p.m., police said. Morgan died hours later of his injuries, according to police and the Fayette County coroner.
As police investigated, Starling was charged first with an aggravated count of driving under the influence and released from jail Tuesday, according to court records. After Morgan’s death, Starling was charged with second-degree manslaughter and turned himself in, police said.
When Starling pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning, his attorney, James Baechtold, requested that his bond be reduced from $75,000. He said that Starling didn’t have past criminal issues and he had a low intoxication level when he was tested. A breathalyzer test showed he had a blood-alcohol content of .054 percent, below the Kentucky legal limit of .08, according to his arrest citation.
District Judge Melissa Murphy rejected a bond reduction after Mitch Zegafuse, a prosecutor with the Fayette county attorney’s office, argued Starling’s charges were too severe for a lower bond.
Zegafuse also said Starling’s intoxication level may have been higher at the time of the accident, and that Starling allegedly admitted to police that he had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.
A sobriety test was not administered immediately after the accident Monday night, police and eyewitnesses said. A police timeline showed Starling was given a breathalyzer at 12:52 a.m. Multiple witnesses said Starling remained in his car while police were at the scene, and that it took as long as two hours for the investigation to proceed after the accident happened.
Tre’Von Petty, a longtime friend of Morgan’s who was riding with him when the accident happened, said he felt the aftermath was handled improperly. He and other witnesses said officers told bystanders they were waiting for someone to arrive from Frankfort before conducting any sobriety tests.
“We kept asking the officers, ‘could you just please side with us? Make us feel better,’” Petty said.
Lucy Macfarlan said she lives nearby and she and her roommate went out to the scene when they heard the crash.
“There were general calls from the family and friends there to breathalyze him, to get him out of the car, to take him into custody, all of which were met with dismissal, frankly,” Macfarlan said.
Sgt. Donnell Gordon said the responding officers didn’t conduct a field sobriety test right away because they needed to secure the scene and hold it for investigators. One investigator who works for the Lexington Police Department had to come in from his home in Frankfort, which is what officers were likely referring to in discussions, Gordon said.
When dealing with bad accidents, it’s standard that the scene is held by the responding officers until the investigators can arrive, Gordon said. Starling was kept in his car and bystanders were kept away in order to hold the crime scene, Gordon said.
“Usually as an officer, you wouldn’t start the preliminary test, because you wouldn’t want to have the subject do the preliminary test twice,” Gordon said.
During subsequent demonstrations Tuesday night, protesters voiced concerns with the time it took to charge Starling Monday night. Some also said he should have been charged with a more severe crime earlier.
Brenna Angel, a spokesperson for the police department, pointed out several cases in which someone was charged with DUI after being involved in a deadly accident and more serious offenses were added anywhere from two weeks to about a year later.
Samuel Turner, who was charged with DUI in September 2018, was not charged with manslaughter until September 2019, Angel said.
Starling’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 19 at 8:30 a.m. His attorney said there was a plan to post Starling’s bail.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 5:52 PM.