Prosecutors have called for a sentence of up to 10 years for Jordan Telford, who was the driver in a 2021 collision in West Bay that killed Shemaiah Grant.
Telford, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving in March of this year after several months of delays due to outstanding crash scene reports.
Grant, 31, was struck and killed while riding a motorcycle along North West Point Road, near Coral Gables, shortly after 8:30pm on 2 May 2021.
“All reasonable inference was that Mr. Telford was using his mobile phone at the time of the collision,” said prosecutor Kenneth Ferguson while making sentencing submissions on Friday, 16 June.
According to Ferguson, government CCTV footage showed Telford leaving the Macabuca restaurant and bar on North West Point Road, at approximately 8:26pm after having been drinking for an hour.
“WhatsApp messages downloaded from his phone shows that at 8:27pm he sent a message to his girlfriend saying ‘I’m coming,’ then at 8:28pm he sent another message with ‘??'” said Ferguson. “36 seconds later, he was recorded calling 911 to report the accident.”
The court heard that 16 days prior to the accident, Telford was convicted of a separate incident of using a mobile phone while driving. Telford’s traffic convictions also include several speeding incidents and one charge of driving without insurance.
“The CCTV footage shows while driving along North West Point Road, he straddled the centre lane line several times. This was as a result of gross and flagrant disregard for the road rules and vulnerable road users, such as a motorcyclist,” said Ferguson.
According to the prosecution, at the time of the accident Telford returned a blood-alcohol content reading of 0.07, which was below the then legal limit of 0.100.
Ferguson called on Justice Cheryll Richards to impose a sentence of between six and 10 years with a starting point. He also called on Richards to consider a driving disqualification of at least five years to be commenced upon Telford’s release from prison.
He told the court that Grant’s family had incurred costs in excess of $39,000 since his death, and asked that the court consider making a compensation order – if it considers Telford was in a position to make payments.
Telford’s attorney, Gregory Burke, told the court that, apart from the use of the cellphone, his client was driving lawfully.
“Neither speed, alcohol nor medication had any bearing on the accident,” said Burke. “The use of the cellphone is at the heart of this case, and Mr. Telford accepts this use by virtue of his guilty plea.”
Burke told the court that while Telford was not seeking the family’s forgiveness, he was hopeful that they would understand he was genuinely remorseful.
Telford surrendered himself to custody, and now awaits his sentence, which Justice Richards said she would hand down on Friday, 30 June.
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