Sean Higgins arrives in court at his trial in the vehicular homicide deaths of brothers Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. (Credit Matt Slocum, Associated Press)
Attorneys for Sean Higgins, the man charged with killing NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in a crash last summer, filed three motions Tuesday, including a motion to dismiss the indictment against their client, claiming the Gaudreau brothers had also been drinking prior to riding their bikes on the night of the crash.
In the court documents, obtained by Philly Daily, the defense alleges that Johnny Gaudreau had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.129 percent and Matthew had a concentration of 0.134 percent. Both levels would be higher than the alleged 0.087 percent of Higgins. The legal limit in New Jersey for drivers is 0.08 percent.
"Earlier today, we filed various pleadings including a motion for additional discovery with regard to the testing procedures of the blood alcohol content for all parties involved in this tragic event, a motion to compel plea offers of similarly situated cases as well a motion to dismiss the Indictment as charged," Higgins' attorneys Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger said in a statement. "We believe these filings are essential to ensuring that our client’s Constitutional rights are protected and that he is not being treated unfairly based upon the amount of publicly being garnered."
Efforts to reach attorneys representing the Gaudreau family were unsuccessful.
The allegations by the defense do not suggest that the blood alcohol levels of the Gaudreau brothers had anything to do with the crash, but but request additional details on how the blood alcohol levels were collected.
Higgins rejected a plea deal from the prosecution last month that would have seen him accept a 35-year prison sentence for pleading guilty.
He was indicted by a grand jury in December on two counts of first degree aggravated manslaughter, two counts of second degree vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident and evidence tampering.
The motion to compel is seeking comparable plea deals presented to individuals charged with vehicular homicide and manslaughter. They defense is arguing that the 35-year plea deal presented to Higgins is more harsh than previous offerings because of the high profile of the case because of Gaudreau's stature.
The next court date is scheduled for March 26.
