Lawyer for Tyson Beckford’s nephew moves for murder charge dismissal

A lawyer for model/actor Tyson Beckford’s nephew is seeking the dismissal of murder charges against his client amid allegations he was too drunk to realise the danger he posed when he allegedly embarked on a boozy joyride, which resulted in a fatal collision with a New York City bus. Dominic Whilby, 22, stands accused of stealing a delivery van and attempting to drive himself home after a night out with Beckford at the Dream Downtown Hotel club in February (14).
He then crashed into a transit bus, killing driver William Pena and injuring four others.
He was subsequently charged with manslaughter, two counts of grand larceny, three of criminal assault, criminal mischief and criminal trespass, and was later also hit with additional charges of felony second-degree murder.
Whilby has pleaded not guilty to all accusations and claims to have no memory of the incident, and now his lawyer, Harvey Slovis, is attempting to use the excuse to have the murder counts thrown out.
In his court motion, Slovis writes, “By his own admission… (Whilby) had no memory of what had happened and did not even know how he ended up in a vehicle. There was no time, even if defendant was cognizant of what he was doing, to establish that he was aware of the risks involved in his behavior.”
Whilby had been due to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court this week (ends16May14), but the hearing was adjourned after Slovis filed the motion for dismissal of the murder charges.