Avary Pleads Not Guilty To Manslaughter

Oscar-winning writer appears in court

By Daryl Kelley
Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary pleaded not guilty Friday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resulting from a late-night car crash near Ojai in January in which a man was killed and Avary's wife was injured.
Defense attorney Mark Werksman entered not guilty pleas to three main felony counts and five special circumstances, while a grim 43-year-old Avary, who won an Academy Award for 'Pulp Fiction' in 1994, stood before a Superior Court judge to answer charges that could result in 11 years in prison.
Judge Bruce Clark granted motions to split a blood sample taken from Avary so the defense can confirm – or rebut – prosecution findings that the defendant had a blood-alcohol level of .11 when the tragic accident occurred just near Boardman Road on Ojai Avenue. A blood-alcohol level of .08 or greater constitutes drunken driving in California.
Clark also allowed the defense to examine the 2000 Mercedes sedan Avary was driving when he failed to maneuver a turn shortly after midnight on Jan. 13 and crashed into a telephone pole in front of Ojai Lumber.
Later Friday, a judge left Avary's bail at $50,000, compared with a statutory recommendation of $80,000, because the defendant has appeared at every court date and prosecutors did not object to the lower bail. Avary also will be allowed to travel out of the country within North America while awaiting trial.
In an interview, Werksman declined to elaborate on the his client's defense, or the strength of the case against Avary.
But previously he had said Avary denies being under the influence of alcohol, was not speeding and thinks the crash was caused by a tire blowout.
And Werksman said Friday that Avary wants the case to be resolved promptly.
“We're going to resolve this as soon as we can,” Werksman said. “But we have a duty to do some investigation to resolve the cause of the accident and the validity of the chemical test that was done.”
In charges filed Wednesday, prosecutors maintained that Avary committed several crimes while driving under the influence of alcohol, when his car skidded and crashed, killing a visitor from Italy and seriously injuring the screenwriter's wife.
Deputy District Attorney Michael Lief said in an interview that the case against Avary is solid.
“This is not the kind of case where the deal is going to get better for him as time goes on,” Lief said.
“There were positive results for alcohol and for another controlled substance as well (in toxicological tests).”
Lief would not say what the other drug was that was purportedly detected.
The first felony count against Avary is gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, which carries a basic sentence of 10 years in prison, and one additional year considering the circumstances of this case, Lief said.
Avary is also charged with driving under the influence and causing injury, with a so-called special circumstance of causing “great bodily injury,” which could carry a penalty of three years in prison, plus another three years for the special circumstance.
Thirdly, Avary is charged with causing injury while driving with a blood alcohol level of at least .08 percent, with another great bodily injury special circumstance. This charge also carries a potential six-year sentence.
If convicted of all charges, Avary might serve them at the same time, although a judge could impose the penalties consecutively, lengthening the basic 11-year sentence.
“The bottom line is he's facing up to 10 years in prison,” said Bill Haney, supervising attorney for the felony unit of the District Attorney's Office.
But if Avary has no previous criminal record, a maximum sentence would be unlikely, authorities said.
It took nearly a year for prosecutors to file the charges, Haney said, because the investigation was so thorough, with a crime scene analysis and follow-up questioning of witnesses. An elaborate accident re-construction was part of the investigation, authorities have said.
“We've done extensive follow-up and investigation on this,” Haney said. “This has been very thoroughly researched. The Sheriff's Department has done extensive work and responded to every request we've given them.”
Haney said the thoroughness of the investigation was not determined by Avary's celebrity or the quality of his legal counsel. Werksman, a former federal prosecutor, is a prominent criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles.
“We are very thorough in every case of this nature,” Haney said. “We follow the facts and investigate the case.”
After arraignment, prosecutors must show at a preliminary hearing that they have enough evidence to warrant a trial. A court date was set for February 20 to determine whether the defense was ready to proceed to that evidentiary hearing.
Key evidence in the case, defense lawyer Werksman has said, will be the results of blood samples taken to determine the screenwriter's alcohol level after the crash, and the type of damage to Avary's automobile.
“There are things we can't learn without court orders once the case is filed,'' he said.
In rare cases, new tests of blood alcohol levels in DUI cases have yielded different results in Ventura County, but authorities have said that such historical problems were remedied long ago.
Werksman said in a previous interview that once charges were filed “we can begin to work toward resolution of this case. ... We can't determine the true cause of this accident until ... we have an opportunity to inspect the vehicle and examine the district attorney's evidence.”
Andreas Zini, 34, who was visiting Avary from Italy, died in the single-car crash, apparently from internal injuries, authorities said. His wife, Maria Julia Zini, has returned to Italy, and her representative, attorney Tom Donovan of Santa Monica, said he would have no immediate comment on behalf of the victim's family.
Avary's wife, Gretchen, also suffered serious injuries after being thrown from the car when it crashed in front of Ojai Lumber Co. on East Ojai Avenue. According to police, Avary failed to negotiate a turn in the highway and crashed into a power pole.
Avary was uninjured in the accident, but his 40-year-old wife was found lying in the road next to the couple's sedan. She was transported to Ojai Valley Community Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. She was released about a week later as she recovered from a ruptured bladder.
Avary, a screenwriter, director and producer, remains free on a $50,000 bail bond.
“This is a tragic case, and Roger is devastated,” Werksman said. “He feels terrible for the Zini family, whose lose is incalculable.”