Eleven years, eight driving-while-impaired convictions and two habitual impaired driving convictions later, Jammie Lynn Goodman returns to state prison with more than four years left to serve.
Tuesday, Goodman accepted a plea deal in which he admitted guilt for habitual impaired driving and driving with a revoked license, earning him between two years and 11 months, and four years and five months additional to his current term of incarceration. Goodman received a one-year, five-month to a three-year, one-month sentence on Aug. 20 for a Nov. 30, 2011 habitual impaired driving conviction.
His license was also permanently revoked.
Four and a half months in, Goodman’s looking at more than four years and three months left before he’d be eligible for release.
As a condition of the plea, prosecutors dropped charges for possession of an open container in the passenger area, reckless driving, speeding, operating a vehicle with no insurance and driving without a seatbelt.
Goodman’s alcoholism was a frequent topic at the sentencing hearing, before Judge Paul L. Jones got to the heart of why he gave Goodman the toughest sentence possible.
“You could have very easily killed somebody’s loved one. Not that you’d want to,” Jones said.
Before reading out the sentence, Jones said, “I have a duty to consider the interests of the public,” and later adding, “I don’t care if you get drunk as a skunk, but you need to stay home.”
Assistant District Attorney Imelda Pate told the court that on July 31, the 911 dispatcher received an anonymous tip about Goodman driving drunk in a burgundy Ford Thunderbird, heading on U.S. 70 East from La Grange to Kinston. A Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office deputy spotted Goodman driving recklessly and speeding, but later lost track of him. Deputies reacquired Goodman’s vehicle near Old Asphalt Road and N.C. 11, and confirmed his license tag as fictitious.
After pulling Goodman over at the Friendly Mart, a deputy — smelling a strong scent of alcohol and observing Goodman in what appeared to be an inebriated state — asked for his license. Goodman replied that he didn’t have one. Later subjected to a breathalyzer test, Goodman said it didn’t matter because he was habitual anyway. He then blew a .27 on the monitor, more than three times the legal limit.
Goodman later tested twice at .25 before receiving his official .24 blood alcohol content reading.
State Trooper Jason Locklear said in his report that when he arrived at the scene, he found Goodman slumped over the steering wheel while talking to the deputy. Locklear also observed a beer can that was still cold to the touch. When Locklear attempted to conduct a field sobriety test, Goodman stumbled and had to be supported so he didn’t fall. Locklear also reported that when he put Goodman in the cruiser, Goodman continued to smell strongly of alcohol.
Authorities ran the information on the Thunderbird’s registration, and discovered it was fictitious as well, and the car had not been inspected as required. The car was impounded as a result. Goodman asked that it not be impounded while on the scene, and his attorney, Nick Harvey, made the request again in Superior Court.
Goodman said the car was bought for one of his daughters, so she would have a way to get around while he was serving what later became the first of his habitual impaired driving offenses. Jones did not rule on the car’s status during the proceeding.
Harvey attempted to persuade the judge to rule favorably for his client by mentioning how involved Goodman’s family has been in his defense, and that his seven children – aged 23 to 3 years old – “want their father back.” In rejecting Harvey’s request for the minimum sentence possible, Jones explained the severity of Goodman’s multiple offenses, speaking about a DWI trial he officiated in New Hanover County.
In that case, Thomas Grooms hit and killed David and Trey Doolittle as they rode their bicycles on a Sunday morning in April 2011. A jury convicted Grooms in April of two counts of second-degree murder.
“Jammie Goodman can be a murderer too, if he doesn’t stop driving and drinking,” Jones said.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at WolfeReports.