HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An appeals court has rejected a bid for a new trial by a man convicted of third-degree murder and other charges in the death of a 7-year-old boy on a bicycle during a western Pennsylvania police chase more than two decades ago.
PennLive.com reports that now-44-year-old Jamal Tait argued unsuccessfully that the Superior Court panel should order a new trial because a key prosecution witness now says he lied when he said Tait was driving recklessly and police had broken off the chase before the crash.
Authorities said Tait, then 22, led police on a high-speed chase in Allegheny County in June 1998 and hit Raymond Michelotti, who was riding his bike near his Pittsburgh home. Investigators said Tait’s sport-utility vehicle was going about 65 mph on a narrow street with a 15 mph speed limit, and the impact hurled the boy at least 100 feet.
Judge Mary Murray wrote for the appeals court that even without the testimony of the witness in question, the outcome of the trial would not have been altered. Murray said there was plenty of evidence of the defendant’s recklessness and three other witnesses testified that police had broken off the chase before the crash.
During the trial, Tait’s attorney argued that his client might be guilty of vehicular homicide or involuntary manslaughter, but not third-degree murder.
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