Judge Dismisses 8 Charges In Fallen 7 Trial
Witness Testifies Truck Was Not Weaving Before Fatal Crash
Also on today’s menu:
Mother, Two Boys Shot In Northfield
Shedding Light On Political Check
The case against Volodymyr Zhukovskyy has taken a turn in the suspect’s favor, with Coos County Superior Court Judge Peter Bornstein agreeing to dismiss eight of the charges against him in the fatal crash that killed seven motorcycle riders who were part of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club. Bornstein dismissed seven counts of negligent homicide and one count of aggravated driving while intoxicated.
The following day, August 4, the defense’s first witness, Adam Bartley of Jefferson, testified that, contrary to the state’s accident reconstruction testimony, Zhukovskyy’s truck was not weaving on the highway before the crash, which took place on Route 2 in Randolph on June 21, 2019.
Defense Attorney Steve Mirkin has said that medical records have shown that Al “Woody” Mazza, the lead rider for the Jarhead group, along with several other motoryclists, were intoxicated at the time of the crash. Although Zhukovskyy had taken heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine more than 10 hours before the crash, the defense has maintained that he was not impaired by the time of the crash.
Zhukovskyy still faces 15 charges, including several counts of manslaughter and negligent homicide.
Mother, Two Boys Shot In Northfield
Autopsies conducted on three people found dead on Wethersfield Drive, Northfield, revealed that all three died of gunshot wounds.
Authorities were notified of the deaths by a 911 call on August 3. Officials initially withheld the names of the victims, saying only there was one adult and two juveniles.
The next day, when announcing the autopsy results, Attorney-General John Formella, State Police Colonel Nathan Noyes, and Northfeild Police Chief John Raffaelly said the woman was Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and the others were her sons, 4-year-old Benjamin Sweeney and 1-year-old Mason Sweeney. Each died by a single gunshot wound.
While not identifying a suspect in the deaths, authorities said they “have identified all involved parties and there is no threat to the general public.” The investigation is ongoing.
Shedding Light On Political Check
Laconia Daily Sun reporter Catherine McLaughlin did a brilliant investigative piece on Gunstock’s contribution(s) to Governor Chris Sununu’s political campaign. Questions had been raised about how a county-owned entity could be making contributions to a politician.
One really has to read the story to get all the nuances, but, briefly, the contributions are common among ski resorts and the trade organization Ski NH. Gunstock is different from most ski resort, however, because it is not a privately owned business, even if it operations like one and has a budget set by the independent Gunstock Area Commission, rather than by the Belknap County Delegation.
Gunstock President and General Manager Tom Day — who used to work at Waterville Valley, which makes such donations in support of the sitting governor, no matter which party he or she belongs to — said, “It’s a standard thing that we have done.” He added, “If I had even thought that it would cause any kind of issue, I wouldn’t have done it.”
Checks of that amount would not have risen to the attention of the Gunstock Area Commission, according to former commissioner Gary Kiedaisch. This year, the commission has taken a more active interest in financial details and formed an audit committee to participate more meaningfully in the independent auditor’s annual review of finances.
The question of the legality and the appropriateness of Gunstock’s support of political figures remains unanswered, but now that the checks have come to light, a decision on whether to continue the practice can be made.
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