Driver In DUI Manslaughter Case Gets Maximum Sentence

By THOMAS W. KRAUSE The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 30, 2007

TAMPA - Bonnie Godshall said she had always hoped her mother would lead a long life, then die peacefully in her sleep when she was ready.

That's not the way it happened.

On June 11, as 75-year-old Margaret L. Caouette drove home from her job as a Wal-Mart greeter, a car ran a stop sign and slammed into her. The driver of that car, Nicole Harris Hall, was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence for driving under the influence manslaughter.

In court, Godshall said she will always remember her mother's friendliness and high energy.

"She loved working as a greeter so she could laugh and smile at all the children," Godshall said. "I used to tease her that she had a spring in her butt because she never could sit still without doing anything."

After Caouette's death, her daughter and granddaughter moved into her house to take care of the many animals she had rescued over the years. Including the pets they already owned, the brood consists of four dogs and five cats.

Bonnie and Danielle Godshall said they had hoped the judge would sentence Hall to the maximum 15 years. Hall had asked the judge for an 11-year sentence, as recommended by sentencing guidelines.

Circuit Judge Ronald Ficarrotta said Hall's previous crimes and her attitude the night of the accident contributed to his decision to give Hall all 15 years.

"You have a history of bad decisions and bad choices," Ficarrotta told the 33-year-old Hall. "That's very difficult to look past in this kind of case."

Assistant State Attorney Lucia Iler told the judge that Hall fought with her boyfriend June 11. He threw Hall out of the house, and she punched a fist through a window, Iler said. The boyfriend called the sheriff's office.

Before deputies arrived, Iler said, Hall sped off in her sister's car.

As a deputy headed toward the boyfriend's house, he saw a car speeding and running a stop sign. He turned to follow and saw a cloud of dust as the car smashed into another car at the intersection of North Valrico Road and East Wheeler Road.

Hall's blood alcohol level was measured at .181 and .182. In Florida a person is assumed impaired with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or greater.

A paramedic who arrived to help, Barbara Van Hock, said Hall told her a horrific story.

Hall identified herself as Jacquelyn Harris. She said she had driven to her boyfriend's house to tell him she was pregnant and he started to hit her, Van Hock said. Hall told Van Hock that she drove off, but he jumped into his car and gave chase.

At the hospital, Hall's attitude changed. When she learned she would have to wait for a doctor, she began to spew profanities, Van Hock said.

Later, sheriff's detectives told Van Hock that Hall's real name was Nicole Harris Hall. Jacquelyn was her sister. Hall was not pregnant and she was the one who started the fight with the boyfriend, they said.

Hall had absconded from house arrest in Alachua County, where she had been convicted for writing herself checks from an account at the company where she worked. She also had an outstanding charge of filing a false police report in Georgia.

Hall's lawyer, Lisa McLean, said Hall had left one bad relationship for another. Her previous husband forced her to write the checks, then left her. A boyfriend later persuaded her to abscond from house arrest.

The night Caouette died, McLean said, Hall called several friends to ask for a ride but was turned down. When deputies asked for her name, she gave them the driver's license of her sister.

"Bad decision," McLean told the judge. "Real bad," Ficarrotta responded.

Hall apologized to Caouette's family and said alcohol is no longer a part of her life. A drug therapist said Hall has had hallucinations in which she hears the squealing tires just before the accident.

She pleaded guilty to the charges.

Asked about the sentence, Danielle Godshall, Caouette's granddaughter, said she had bittersweet feelings.

"I'm satisfied," she said. "I don't know about happy."

Reporter Thomas W. Krause can be reached at (813)259-7698 or tkrause@tampatrib.com.