Polo millionaire sentenced to 16 years for killing promising student in drunken hit-and-run gets a retrial after juror found to hold a DUI grudge

Florida polo tycoon John Goodman has been granted a retrial after a juror at his first trail was adjudged to have lied to get on the jury.
Goodman, 49, was convicted of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide last May and sentenced to 16 years in prison and a fine of $10,000. He was living under house arrest pending the decision of his appeal.
Goodman's Bentley rammed into 23-year-old Scott Wilson's Hyundai and sent it into a canal in Wellington, in February 2010. Wilson, an engineering graduate, was strapped into the driver's seat and drowned.

Polo tycoon: John Goodman now faces a retrial after his defense team successfully argued that a juror had lied during the selection process

Juror Dennis DeMartin, 69, was accused by Goodman’s defense of juror misconduct after not disclosing his ex-wife's DUI during jury selection.
'A juror who deceives to get on a jury in a high profile case for his own profit is a trial lawyer's worst nightmare,' Goodman's attorney Roy Black wrote in a statement.

DeMartin had also been the subject of an April 2012 motion for a new trial based on a 32-page book he had self-published about the trial.
In the book, DeMartin wrote about a trial-related drinking experiment in the midst of jury deliberations, where he downed three vodkas one night to determine if Goodman was drunk on the night of the crash.

Juror Dennis DeMartin, 69, was accused by Goodman¿s defense of juror misconduct after not disclosing his ex-wife's DUI during jury selection

[caption

The court decided that the book and drinking experiment were inappropriate, but didn’t deprive Goodman of a fair trial. The lying, however, changed the court's stance, reports ABC.
Florida Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Colbath said DeMartin's antics had transformed an imperfect but fair trial into a ‘constitutionally impermissible proceeding.’

In his book, DeMartin wrote about his wife drinking, getting into an accident and being arrested for DUI. He said he had a stroke soon after and divorced his wife after she met someone else at a DUI program.

‘The Defendant contends, and this Court finds, that DeMartin concealed highly relevant information, namely, that his ex-wife had been convicted of a DUI,’ Colbath wrote.

Goodman, the multi-millionaire founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, claimed in court that his $200,000 car malfunctioned and lurched forward, slamming into Wilson's vehicle.

He has also denied being drunk at the time of the crash, although other testimony has contradicted him and his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit three hours after the crash, according to prosecutors.

Goodman fled the scene of the accident, authorities said. During his first trial, Judge Jeffrey Colbath condemned Goodman's actions, saying: 'He left to try and save himself.'
Goodman reached a settlement with the Wilson family and will pay out $46million in compensation to them.
Goodman also made headlines when he adopted his girlfriend, Heather Hutchins, 42, in an attempt to preserve part of his fortune for her while negotiating a civil suit settlement. In March, a Miami appeals court reversed the ruling that allowed the adoption.
Goodman, right, attempted to adopt his 42-year-old girlfriend Heather Hutchins in a move designed to preserve part of his fortune for her while negotiating a civil suit settlement
During the original trial the judge said: 'These are horrible, horrible cases from a criminal justice standpoint. Scott Wilson's death was senseless. He was on the eve of fullness of life.'

He added that the tragic case should serve as a warning to others as he said: 'Find a cab, find a friend. Don't drink and drive.

'This was a senseless, senseless accident because Mr Goodman chose to drive when he was too drunk.'

According to Mr Colbath, the severity of the original sentence had reflected the fact that Goodman knew what he was doing when the fled the scene of the accident without calling 911.

'To avoid the liability, the criminal responsibility, that he knew was going to visit him from the time of the crash, he willfully left the scene of the crash,' the judge said.

'It was because he wanted to figure out a way to save himself.'

Grieving: Lili Wilson, the victim's mother, wept when Goodman's 911 call was played in court

Mr Wilson's mother Lili addressed the court, giving emotional testimony about her son.

'Sunday is going to be Mother's Day and Scott will not be coming home,' she said.

'By dying at such a young age, he will never get the opportunity to work as a professional after graduating from engineering school.

'He will never have the opportunity to marry and have a family of his own.'

Goodman also took the stand, saying: 'I just wanted to say that from the day after the accident, all I've wanted to do is reach out to the Wilsons and be with them and cry with them.

'And I can't imagine or even pretend to imagine what it would be like to lose a son.'

Impact: The crumpled car driven by Wilson, left, and the Bentley driven by Goodman, right. Goodman said he drank from a bottle of liquor he found after the crash - the reason he was over the limit

Deadly: Wilson family members look at the Bentley Goodman was driving when he ran a stop sign in 2010

Prosecutors successfully claimed that Goodman was drunk when he rammed his black Bentley convertible into Mr Wilson's car two years ago, causing it to roll into a canal.
The millionaire disputed the claims and argued in court that the crash was the result of a malfunction with his brakes.
Goodman left the scene and waited an hour to call 911 while Scott drowned. He gave a dead cell phone battery as the reason why he walked away from the crash scene.
After the crash, Goodman's blood alcohol level was measured at .177 per cent, more than twice the legal driving limit.
At trial Goodman said he was sure of one thing: he had two shots of tequila and two shots of vodka before the crash, yet he was not drunk and that he drunk after the crash to alleviate his pain.

Bill: The court was shown Goodman's receipt for drinks, bought for himself and others before the crash

Lap of luxury: The International Polo Club, which Goodman founded, attracts A-list celebrities

After leaving a bar, he said his car suddenly lurched forward into an intersection 'and I began to apply my brakes, and the car did not seem to be stopping as easily as I was used to,' he said.
Unable to control the vehicle, it slammed into the side of Scott's - even though Goodman said he was not aware he had hit another driver so left the scene.
If he had known someone had plunged into the canal, 'I would have done whatever I could have done to help', he claimed.
Goodman then went to a nearby barn where he found a bottle of liquor, the Miami Herald reported.
'I ... drank it to alleviate, thinking it would help with my pain,' he said, claiming it was the reason his blood alcohol content was more than double the legal driving level when his blood was taken three hours after the crash.

DAILYMAIL