*** 10/25/09 Update – The Judge has rejected this motion. I guess you cannot blame someone for trying to get out of jail right?

Imprisoned celebrity motorcycle builder Billy Lane wants a judge to give his fatal crash victim’s family another chance to say what kind of punishment he should receive, in hopes of getting his six-year prison sentence reduced.

Lane, 39, was sentenced in August to six years in prison after pleading no contest to one count of vehicular homicide for crashing his pickup truck head-on into 56-year-old Gerald Morelock’s motorcycle while speeding past slow traffic in a no-pass zone on Sept. 4, 2006.

During sentencing, the victim’s brother and nephew declined to recommend a punishment, but asked the judge to impose a sentence that would use Lane’s celebrity status to help save the lives of young people through a foundation they plan to create in Morelock’s name.

However, Lane’s attorneys recently filed a motion claiming the men have since expressed that intense media and public scrutiny caused them to be “vague” about their feelings on a prison sentence for Lane.

“They were sufficiently overwhelmed by the experience that they did not fully express their feeling that Mr. Lane would better be able to benefit society if he were not incarcerated,” the defense motion says.

The attorneys want Circuit Judge Robert Burger to give the Morelocks another chance to be heard and to reduce Lane’s sentence if he sees fit.

No hearing on the motion has been set.

I must admit, this is one of the most bizzare defense motions I have ever heard. If it is granted I will be shocked.

California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer

The post Billy Lane files a Motion to Reduce His Jail Sentence. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

You can read many of the articles I have written on the Billy Lane case below or by typing in Billy Lane in the search box on the sidebar to the right.

Billy Lane is a custom motorcycle builder who got famous on reality TV shows like Biker Build off on the Discovery Channel in the early 2000’s. He then went on to make regular appearances on the motorcycle event circuit at events such as, Sturgis, Daytona, etc.

Billy Lane got rich and famous as a biker off of bikers. Then Billy Lane did something really stupid; he got shit faced drunk. Then, while his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit he decided to jump into a free SUV given to him to drive as a promotional item by Dodge, along with a lady who rode in the passenger seat, and proceeded to drive.

While driving intoxicated, he decided to cross a double yellow line and hit a biker named Gerry Morelock head on killing Gerry Morelock. Although Gerry Morelock himself had been drinking, he was in no way responsible for the accident or his death. His only mistake that day was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As a biker, I empathize with Gerry Morelock, because it could have been me; it could have been any biker on the road that day. When you have an asshole like Billy Lane crossing a double yellow and plowing into you head on it really does not matter who you are, you are dead. Gerry Morelock is dead. He is dead because Billy Lane decided to get drunk and drive.

I have heard commenter’s on my Biker Law Blog make the argument that we should not talk shit about Billy Lane because we have all drank alcohol and driven, so who are we to throw stones? I say bullshit. How many of us have got drunk then crossed a double yellow line and smashed into a fellow biker head on, killing him?

Billy Lane and Dodge reached settlements of civil cases brought by the family of Gerry Morelock well before Billy Lane’s criminal case was resolved.

So Billy Lane was sentenced to 6 years in the pokie, (prison) by a Vera, Florida Court. He was also placed on three years of probation following his incarceration, and the loss of his driver’s license for life. For basically murdering a man, he got off real light.

May Gerry Morelock rest in peace.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2009

The post Billy Lane Gets Six Years in Prison for Vehicular Manslaughter – A Follow Up. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.