Pleasant Gap man pleads guilty to DUI homicide

A Pleasant Gap man involved in a high-speed car accident that killed his girlfriend pleaded guilty Monday to homicide by vehicle while DUI, a felony.

Shawn Meter, 22, also pleaded guilty to DUI and driving under suspension, both misdemeanors. The guilty pleas came as attorneys were preparing to select a jury for his trial.

The crash occurred early on the morning of July 25, 2010, when Meter’s car rolled 380 feet on East College Avenue in Pleasant Gap. His passenger, Julie Webster, 25, of Bellefonte, was ejected from the car and died soon after being flown to Altoona Hospital.

In addition, Meter on Monday entered guilty pleas in two separate cases. He pleaded guilty to three felony counts of delivery of marijuana stemming from a 2010 incident, and to DUI and summaries originating from a 2009 arrest.

Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said she expects he will be sentenced to five years and 92 days to 10.5 years in state prison when he goes before Judge Bradley P. Lunsford on Nov. 14.

She said in an email that she’s less than satisfied with that sentence, or with state law that prevents harsher sentences for the crime of homicide by vehicle while DUI.

The mandatory sentence for a first-time offender convicted of homicide by vehicle while DUI is three years, Parks Miller wrote. Even if a defendant has significant prior convictions â€" which Meter does not â€" the harshest sentence a court can impose for that crime is five years in prison.

“The length of time faced by such offenders who take a life while drunk should be much more significant, but we are nevertheless bound by Pa. law as it is written,” Parks Miller said via email.

“While I am happy the family has some measure of closure, this sentence seems so negligible in light of what they have lost by having Julie taken from them senselessly before her time.”

Meter’s attorney, Deborah Lux, could not be reached for comment late Monday afternoon.

Julie Webster’s father, Jeffrey Webster, said he understood Parks Miller’s options were limited, but he is also not satisfied with Meter’s probable sentence.

“My family and I believe that the sentence still isn’t enough for the loss of our daughter,” he said. “However, this just proves the laws regarding drunken driving need to change in Pennsylvania.”

Webster said his family would continue to use Justice for Julie, the nonprofit founded after his daughter’s death, to lobby state legislators for more stringent drunken driving laws.

“We’re going to go to Harrisburg, we’re going to meet with (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), and we’re going figure out what we can do to get tougher legislation passed,” he said.

Cliff White can be reached at 235-3928.