A Florida jury today found International Polo Club founder John Goodman was found guilty of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
The jury, which was comprised of five men and one woman, indicated that they had reached a verdict today after 5-1/2 hours of deliberation.
Goodman could now face 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 30.
The judge denied defense attorney Roy Black’s request that Goodman be released on bail and he was immediately taken into custody.
Goodman’s Bentley slammed into 23-year-old Scott Wilson’s Hyundai in February 2010 and sent it into a nearby canal in Wellington, Florida. Wilson, an engineering graduate, was still strapped into the vehicle’s driver’s seat and drowned.
Wilson’s mother was emotional as she left the courtroom today.
“I know that it took a lot for them come up with a conclusion and justice has been served. I’m always going to miss my son,” Lili Wilson said. “I will always share his memories. And now, coming from me and the rest of the family and his friends, it’s time for the healing process to begin.”
William Wilson, Scott Wilson’s father, exited the courtoom quickly, but his attorney made a statement on his behalf.
“Mr. Wilson lost not only his son, but his best friend, an engineering colleague and a Florida Gators fan,” the attorney said.
The attorney said his client is “still inflicted with harrowing pain, grief and sorrow that cannot be shaken,” two years after his son’s death.
The multi-millionaire claims that his $200,000 vehicle malfunctioned and lurched forward. He has also denied being intoxicated at the time of the accident in which Wilson died, although other witnesses had contradicted him and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.
Goodman also attempted adopting his 42-year-old girlfriend to exploit a loophole in the civil suit.
“I think that justice was served. I think [jurors] were very careful,” said prosecutor Ellen Roberts. “They went over a lot of evidence and I think they probably returned the only verdict they could.”
Roberts said she wouldn’t know what sentence she planned to recommend to the judge until she spoke with the Wilson family.
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