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East Hanover fatal trial could occur in February

Peggy Wright
@PeggyWrightDR

A woman accused of driving while under the influence of alcohol and causing the death in 2012 of East Hanover resident Ralph J. Politi Jr. is being defended by her fifth lawyer, who said he is preparing for a possible trial in February.

Vanessa Brown in Superior Court, Morristown, in 2014 with former attorney Richard Roberts

Defense attorney Edward Bilinkas  recently was retained by the family of alleged drunken driver Vanessa Brown, 35, and was in state  Superior Court, Morristown, Wednesday for a status conference.  Brown faces   charges of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide after the May 5, 2012, crash that killed the 49-year-old community leader.

Bilinkas, in an interview, said all motions have been resolved and that he has been reviewing case documents and files, and has visited the crash site on Ridgedale Avenue in East Hanover. He said the Morris County Prosecutor's Office last extended a plea offer of 20 years, with 85 percent of the term to be served before parole consideration.

Bilinkas said he expects the case to be tried in February in Superior Court.

Brown was first represented by two separate private attorneys and then was assigned two Morris County public defenders before family members hired Bilinkas, of Randolph.  Previous lawyers resolved nearly all outstanding issues in the case.  At trial, a jury can hear the results of blood and urine samples taken from Brown and some of the statements she made to police at the scene.

A blood sample showed that Brown had a blood-alcohol content of 0.133 percent, or more than the 0 .08 percent limit at which a driver is considered intoxicated in New Jersey. She had a prior DWI, which a judge ruled would be admissible at trial to show that Brown was on notice by 2012 of the consequences of driving while intoxicated. The tests showed she also had cocaine metabolites in her body.

An actual trial has been delayed, in part, by appeals of some trial-level rulings and changes in attorneys.

On May 5, 2012, Brown drove her Toyota Camry over a curb in East Hanover and struck Politi as he loaded items into his pickup truck in a parking lot at 30 Ridgedale Avenue. A surveillance camera for a business in the area captured the collision. A local girls softball coach and member of the Hanover Park Regional High School Board of Education, Politi died shortly after he was struck.

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.