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    Saturday, May 04, 2024

    Trial date set for father in Ledyard pool crash case

    A judge already has ruled that a New Britain father violated the terms of his probation when he crashed his car into a pool in Ledyard last year, severely injuring his two young daughters, but Marcus T. Harvin said Thursday in New London Superior Court that he wants a jury to decide whether he is guilty of drunken driving, assault and child endangerment charges.

    Judge Hillary B. Strackbein scheduled jury selection for Oct. 13 and told Harvin, 27, that he faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

    Harvin, who is represented by attorney John R. Williams, told the judge he might need time to hire a new attorney, but Strackbein said the case has been pending for more than a year and will go forward next month before Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed.

    Harvin was on probation for an August 2013 conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he was charged with fleeing police, crashing his car into a telephone pole and landing his Acura upside down in a swimming pool on Baldwin Hill Road in Ledyard on May 25, 2014.

    His 2-year-old daughter’s arm was nearly severed in the crash, and her 4-year-old sister suffered a broken ankle, according to police.

    Harvin’s blood alcohol content was 0.293 percent, more than three times the 0.08 percent legal limit for driving, and toxicology tests indicated he had marijuana in his system.

    Following the crash, he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, two counts of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, failure to obey an officer’s signal and violation of probation.

    In May, Judge Susan B. Handy presided over a violation of probation hearing at which prosecutor Sarah W. Bowman called several witnesses, including Harvin’s probation officer, a New Britain police officer and three Ledyard police officers who were involved in the crash investigation.

    Handy found that Harvin had violated the terms of his probation and sentenced him to six months in prison.

    The standard of proof for a probation violation hearing is “a fair preponderance of the evidence.”

    A jury will have to find that the state has proven “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Harvin committed the crimes.

    In taking the case to trial, Harvin turned down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of 15 years in prison, suspended after eight years served, followed by five years or probation.

    The plea deal included resolution of two domestic violence cases that will now be tried separately.

    If found guilty of all the crimes, Harvin faces up to 38 years in prison.

    “If you’re convicted, you can’t say, ‘Nobody told me this would happen,’” Strackbein told him.

    k.florin@theday.com

    Twitter: @KFLORIN

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