Morrison,MO : Man convicted in DUI crash that killed cop loses appeal on blood test on October, Monday 16th 2017

The man who admitted four years ago to being under the influence of drugs when he crashed into a Mount Arlington police cruiser, killing an officer, has lost his appeal challenging a blood test after the crash.

Michael Cassella, of Howell, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the 2011 death of officer Joseph Wargo, but later appealed seeking to have the blood and urine tests showing he'd ingested four drugs, including heroin, thrown out.

Witnesses in three other vehicles said Cassella passed them while driving more than 90 miles per hour on Route 80 west before his car went over the grassy center median and crashed head-on into Wargo's eastbound police cruiser.

After pleading guilty, Cassella was sentenced in March 2013 to 20 years in state prison.

Six weeks later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Missouri case that to justify a blood test without a warrant or consent, prosecutors need more evidence to prove an emergency beyond whether evidence would "dissipate" if not tested right away.


Source :
Man convicted in DUI crash that killed cop loses appeal on blood test