PHOENIX (AP) — An attorney representing a man who told police he was texting when he fatally struck a police officer with his vehicle asked a judge to send the case back to the grand jury when records showed the driver was not on his phone.
The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday that 42-year-old Jerry Sanstead told law enforcement he must have been texting when his car fatally hit officer Clayton Townsend in 2019. But an investigation showed he was not using his iPhone before the crash. Sanstead was indicted on a single charge of reckless manslaughter. His attorney, Lawrence Kazan, argued the evidence was distorted. Judge Roy C. Whitehead said he will now consider the matter.
