Driver’s lawyer makes issue of breath test delay in Lexington DUI, manslaughter case
A driver’s defense attorney tried Friday to get evidence tossed in a Lexington manslaughter case over a four-hour delay in administering DUI breath tests after a motorcyclist and car collided.
Matthew Starling, 30, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence after crashing with motorcyclist Daezon Morgan, 25, on June 8. At Starling’s preliminary hearing Friday, Fayette District Judge Melissa Murphy sent the case to a grand jury, which will review the evidence and determine if Starling goes to trial.
Second-degree manslaughter is a Class C felony in Kentucky, and is punishable by 5 to 10 years of prison time, according to Kentucky law.
Lexington Detective Greg Marlin testified that Starling admitted smoking marijuana at about 10:15 a.m. and drinking three mimosas between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The first 911 call on the wreck came in at 8:50 p.m., Marlin said.
Marlin said Starling smelled of alcohol and was clearly intoxicated during field sobriety tests. Marlin testified that Starling told officers he hadn’t eaten anything all day.
Starling consented to field sobriety tests, a blood test and a breath test, Marlin said. The breath test was taken about four hours after the collision, Marlin said, and read .054 percent. That was under the legal blood-alcohol content limit of .08.
“He was in the elimination phase of the alcohol process,” Marlin said. “Based off that information being four hours post-collision, it’s reasonable and probable to believe he was higher at the time of the crash, and I believe him to have been over .08.”
Michael Eubanks, one of Starling’s attorneys, objected to using the intoxication test results as evidence because the test was done hours after the crash. He also said Marlin wasn’t qualified to testify on alcohol intoxication cases because his primary focus is collision reconstruction.
Friends riding with Morgan and crash witnesses have argued police took too long to administer sobriety tests and the resulting charges weren’t severe enough. Police said they secured the crash scene and had to wait on an investigator to arrive from his Frankfort residence.
Eubanks’ objection to the test was overruled by Murphy after the prosecutor argued that the test could still be used as evidence of intoxication, it just couldn’t be used as a definitive measure. The prosecutor also said Marlin had prior experience in DUI accident investigations.
Starling told officers that he couldn’t see any motorcyclists coming when the crash happened, Marlin testified. Morgan was inbound on Richmond when Starling turned in front of him, police said.
“He stated that a motorcyclist had just gone by, and he started to pull out,” Marlin said. “He stated that he stopped and looked and nobody was coming.”
Tre’Von Petty, who was riding alongside Morgan when the accident happened, said Starling didn’t stop at all.
“Not a stop, not a rolling stop, nothing,” Petty previously told the Herald-Leader. During his testimony, Marlin said a witness told officers that Starling was going about 40 mph, seemingly trying to make a U-turn.
During cross-examination, Eubanks raised concern that trees in the median of Richmond Road could have obstructed Starling’s line of sight when he turned. He also asked if it was dark at the time of the accident, and Marlin said it wasn’t quite dark yet.
Marlin testified that Morgan’s motorcycle had been preserved so that it could be analyzed as evidence.
Starling pleaded not guilty to his charges on June 10. His $75,000 bail was paid that evening, according to court records.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 11:40 AM.