Parker County Jury Exonerates Client in Death Case
A jury of seven men and five women found Robert Ernest Wilkerson of Granbury NOT GUILTY Wednesday afternoon on two charges linking him to the death of Willie “B.B.” Fielder, IV., back in January 2007. Fielder, a Weatherford High School running back, died two days after an accident on South Main Street in Weatherford Texas, when his vehicle was struck in the driver side door by Rodney Swindle, 49. Swindle pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to six months in jail, 10 years of probation, a $2,000 fine and 300 hours of community service by District Judge Graham Quisenberry.
Robert Wilkerson represented by attorney R. Shay Ishm, partner with GLASGOW, TAYLOR, ISHAM & GLASGOW, was charged with one count of failing to render aid and one count of racing on a highway.
“I try a lot of felony criminal cases and don’t normally put the defendant on the stand,” “In this case, Robert felt like it was an absolute necessity and he wanted to get up there, and tell his side of the story. This has been a traumatic incident for Robert over the last two years and caused him a lot of emotional trauma. He wanted to get up there and look Mr. Fielder in the eye and tell him what he thought happened and tell him how sorry he was.”
“When your defendant’s statement uses the legal terms of art, the language they used to charge him with in the indictment, you’ve just got to explain that,” Isham said. “That’s why Robert took the stand, to explain why he would say that. It makes sense. The police are telling you that’s what you did, the paper is writing that’s what you’re charged with. It starts to stick with you.”
In closing argument, Isham argued even if the jury felt Wilkerson failed to stop and render aid, he had the “defense of necessity.”
Isham read in the charge where the requirement to stop and render aid can be bypassed if the person feels they would be in danger to do so. Isham said Wilkerson was in fear of a confrontation with Swindle if he stopped at the scene and it was probably in the best interest of the emergency workers for him not to return. Isham also addressed the charge of racing on a highway, which includes wording that racing includes accelerating to pass or overtake a vehicle.
“You’ve got to grasp hold of the spirit of the law,” Isham told the jury. “Is it racing every time you merge on a bottleneck lane and move over and prevent someone from passing you? That is not the spirit of the law.”
“There is a difference between negligence and criminal conduct. We’ve all made judgment calls at one point or another”.