Enfield man gets 11 years in Connecticut trooper death- The New Haven Register on Astini News
HARTFORD — An Enfield man with a history of drug abuse and criminal convictions was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a state trooper last year.
The sentence came after the judge in the case told him that he had been playing "Russian roulette" every time he got behind the wheel before the accident.
"Eventually there's going to be a bullet in the chamber, and I think that's what happened here," Judge David P. Gold told 33-year-old Michael Pajak during the hearing in Hartford Superior Court.
Pajak, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and surrounded by five judicial marshals and two correctional officers, turned toward Trooper Kenneth Hall's family and apologized in front of a crowd of nearly 50 people that included fellow troopers in plain clothes and other emergency responders.
"I know no apology could ever be sufficient for what happened," Pajak said, adding that he would do anything to undo the events of Sept. 2, 2010. Asked by the judge if he had anything else to say, Pajak said, "I have a lot to say to be honest, but it's difficult. I'm having a hard time."
Hall's family urged Gold to sentence Pajak to the maximum 14 years in prison under his no contest pleas in June to manslaughter and assault charges.
"Our family isn't looking for revenge," said Hall's widow, Sheila Hall. "We're looking for justice. This was a preventable so-called accident."
Hall's son, Tyco Hall, told Pajak, "You took the life of an incredible man who can never be replaced. You took the life of a very loving, respectable father."
Pajak was driving at least 80 mph on Interstate 91 northbound in Enfield when his pickup truck veered from the left lane into the right shoulder and smashed into Hall's parked cruiser. Hall, a 22-year veteran trooper and former Marine who served in Vietnam, was sitting in the cruiser after making a routine traffic stop.
Although a sample of Pajak's urine tested positive for cocaine and other drugs, no drugs or alcohol turned up in a blood test taken shortly after the accident. Authorities said the test results suggested that Pajak used drugs in the days before the crash but not the day of the accident. Continued...
Hartford State's Attorney Gail Hardy said Pajak had been in and out of the state criminal justice system for 14 years on convictions for drugs, burglaries and misdemeanors. He also had a DUI conviction, and his license had been suspended several times for various infractions but was valid at the time of the crash. Gold urged state Department of Motor Vehicle officials to consider whether Pajak should be allowed to drive again after he gets out of prison.
Hardy said the case involving Hall was difficult for the prosecution because of the conflicting drug test results, and she noted it was possible that a jury could have found Pajak guilty of the lesser crime of negligent homicide — a misdemeanor that carries only six months in prison upon conviction — if the case had gone to trial.
Pajak's public defender, William O'Connor, urged the judge to not sentence Pajak to more prison time than other defendants in similar cases. O'Connor said four other drivers sentenced by Gold within the past year or so in connection with fatal accidents received an average of nearly nine years in prison.
O'Connor likened Pajak's case to one of a person speeding on a highway and losing control. He said Pajak developed an addiction to opiates after he was legally prescribed a painkiller after an injury years ago.
"He's not the terrible person who's been portrayed by the media," O'Connor said. "He's not a person who's been a menace on the highways."
Gold said deciding on a sentence for Pajak was one of the most difficult tasks he's had as a judge. He cited three factors: that Pajak didn't intentionally kill Hall, that drug tests were conflicting and that the victim was a police officer.
The judge said his main goal was to hand down a sentence that was consistent with prison terms he's given to other drivers in fatal accidents. He said he didn't want to sentence Pajak to much more prison time than defendants in similar cases, because it would be hard to tell relatives of victims in other crashes that the defendants in their cases got less prison time because they weren't police officers.
State troopers praised Hall and called for the maximum possible sentence for Pajak.
"He did not swerve from danger and he gave his life to the citizens of this state," said state police Sgt. John Netkovick. "I feel that a message needs to be sent out that these actions cannot be accepted."
Trooper Andrew Matthews, head of the state police union, said he respects the judge's sentence, but he said troopers were considering lobbying for a new law that would have a stiffer penalty if someone kills a police officer or other emergency responder in an accident. Continued...
HARTFORD — An Enfield man with a history of drug abuse and criminal convictions was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a state trooper last year.
The sentence came after the judge in the case told him that he had been playing "Russian roulette" every time he got behind the wheel before the accident.
"Eventually there's going to be a bullet in the chamber, and I think that's what happened here," Judge David P. Gold told 33-year-old Michael Pajak during the hearing in Hartford Superior Court.
Pajak, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and surrounded by five judicial marshals and two correctional officers, turned toward Trooper Kenneth Hall's family and apologized in front of a crowd of nearly 50 people that included fellow troopers in plain clothes and other emergency responders.
"I know no apology could ever be sufficient for what happened," Pajak said, adding that he would do anything to undo the events of Sept. 2, 2010. Asked by the judge if he had anything else to say, Pajak said, "I have a lot to say to be honest, but it's difficult. I'm having a hard time."
Hall's family urged Gold to sentence Pajak to the maximum 14 years in prison under his no contest pleas in June to manslaughter and assault charges.
"Our family isn't looking for revenge," said Hall's widow, Sheila Hall. "We're looking for justice. This was a preventable so-called accident."
Hall's son, Tyco Hall, told Pajak, "You took the life of an incredible man who can never be replaced. You took the life of a very loving, respectable father."
Pajak was driving at least 80 mph on Interstate 91 northbound in Enfield when his pickup truck veered from the left lane into the right shoulder and smashed into Hall's parked cruiser. Hall, a 22-year veteran trooper and former Marine who served in Vietnam, was sitting in the cruiser after making a routine traffic stop.
Although a sample of Pajak's urine tested positive for cocaine and other drugs, no drugs or alcohol turned up in a blood test taken shortly after the accident. Authorities said the test results suggested that Pajak used drugs in the days before the crash but not the day of the accident.
Hartford State's Attorney Gail Hardy said Pajak had been in and out of the state criminal justice system for 14 years on convictions for drugs, burglaries and misdemeanors. He also had a DUI conviction, and his license had been suspended several times for various infractions but was valid at the time of the crash. Gold urged state Department of Motor Vehicle officials to consider whether Pajak should be allowed to drive again after he gets out of prison.
Hardy said the case involving Hall was difficult for the prosecution because of the conflicting drug test results, and she noted it was possible that a jury could have found Pajak guilty of the lesser crime of negligent homicide — a misdemeanor that carries only six months in prison upon conviction — if the case had gone to trial.
Pajak's public defender, William O'Connor, urged the judge to not sentence Pajak to more prison time than other defendants in similar cases. O'Connor said four other drivers sentenced by Gold within the past year or so in connection with fatal accidents received an average of nearly nine years in prison.
O'Connor likened Pajak's case to one of a person speeding on a highway and losing control. He said Pajak developed an addiction to opiates after he was legally prescribed a painkiller after an injury years ago.
"He's not the terrible person who's been portrayed by the media," O'Connor said. "He's not a person who's been a menace on the highways."
Gold said deciding on a sentence for Pajak was one of the most difficult tasks he's had as a judge. He cited three factors: that Pajak didn't intentionally kill Hall, that drug tests were conflicting and that the victim was a police officer.
The judge said his main goal was to hand down a sentence that was consistent with prison terms he's given to other drivers in fatal accidents. He said he didn't want to sentence Pajak to much more prison time than defendants in similar cases, because it would be hard to tell relatives of victims in other crashes that the defendants in their cases got less prison time because they weren't police officers.
State troopers praised Hall and called for the maximum possible sentence for Pajak.
"He did not swerve from danger and he gave his life to the citizens of this state," said state police Sgt. John Netkovick. "I feel that a message needs to be sent out that these actions cannot be accepted."
Trooper Andrew Matthews, head of the state police union, said he respects the judge's sentence, but he said troopers were considering lobbying for a new law that would have a stiffer penalty if someone kills a police officer or other emergency responder in an accident.
Hall was the 21st state trooper or auxiliary trooper killed in the line of duty since 1922.
