By Staff
Miller wanted to get it off his chest, attorney says
By CHRISTINA HALE, Staff Writer
A Washington man accused of driving drunk and killing his passenger and friend in June 2006, pleaded guilty to all charges Monday in Beaufort County Superior Court.
David Allen Miller Jr., 23, of 117 N. Harvette Road, Washington, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two offenses of driving while impaired, and was sentenced to a minimum of 147 months and a maximum of 183 months in prison, according to the Beaufort County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecuting Assistant District Attorney Tom Anglim said Miller accepted the plea agreement Monday afternoon and made a statement through his attorney Frank Johnston in court. “He expressed a need to get it over with and to get it off his chest,” Anglim said Tuesday.
Miller and his friend, William Michael Boyette, 21, also of Washington, were both drinking on June 3, 2006 at an acquaintance’s home in Washington. They left the home with Boyette driving an SUV.
Boyette’s father owned the car, said Sgt. Brandon Craft with the N.C. Highway Patrol Office in Washington.
When Miller and Boyette returned to the house, they loaded a motorcycle into the car without the permission of the owner and drove away again, according to a press release. This time Miller was driving the SUV.
That night around 6:30 p.m., investigators said Miller drove around a curve on Cherry Run Road in Washington and lost control of the car. The car struck a tree, flipped and went into a ditch, according to a press release.
Boyette was pinned on the passenger side of the car, according to the DA’s Office.
Craft said, Boyette must have “hit his head on something during the roll over.” He said “his feet were still in passenger floor board but he was sitting on the middle console.”
Boyette was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a press release.
Miller’s blood alcohol content was tested around 10:30 that night at Beaufort County Hospital and registered at .17, Craft said. “He was extremely impaired. Over twice the legal limit,” he said.
At the time of the crash, his alcohol level was between .21 and .22, according to the DA’s Office. Miller already had two driving while impaired offenses pending. One occurred on Dec. 28, 2005 and another on April 6, 2006. He pleaded guilty to both of these charges Monday along with the murder charge, according to a press release.
When asked if Miller showed any remorse for his actions, Anglim said it was possible “his conscience was bothering him, but those were his decisions, to drink and drive, which resulted in the death of that young man.”