WILLIAMSON COUNTY: Michael & Associates secured a not guilty verdict in a 2021 DWI case against Adrien Thomas in a tragic 2021 accident in Northwest Austin that resulted in the death of a pedestrian.
Jurors in Williamson County deliberated for less than two hours on Tuesday before determining that Thomas was not at fault in the incident.
On May 22, 2021 — after completing a 12-hour shift — Thomas was driving down the 7300 block of McNeil Drive around 8:40 p.m. when a pedestrian jumped in front of his vehicle. Thomas could not stop his car in time and struck the pedestrian, a 66-year-old man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Although Thomas had just been involved in a traumatic accident, and there was consensus that Thomas was not at fault, the officers claimed to observe signs of intoxication that they believed stemmed from something other than alcohol.
They performed field sobriety tests, which Thomas allegedly failed.
Thomas was arrested, charged with DWI, and booked into the Williamson County Jail.
After his arrest, results of both breath and blood testing confirmed that there was no alcohol in Thomas’ system.
Thomas has maintained his innocence over the past three years, and Ben Michael, founding partner of Michael & Associates, asserted that he should never have been arrested in the first place.
The defense was able to prove at trial that these were false accusations designed to justify making an arrest that night, even when the officers knew there was no evidence to support it.
“Charging our client was a miscarriage of justice and the State prosecuted our client in bad faith from start to finish because they felt pressure to find someone guilty of something due to the unfortunate accidental death of the pedestrian,” Michael said. “So they came after our client even though the State admitted they knew Mr. Thomas wasn’t at fault. Not on our watch.”
Throughout the trial, Michael & Associates senior trial attorneys Andromeda Vega Rubio and James Fletcher presented compelling evidence to establish that Thomas was not intoxicated or impaired at the time of the accident, which occurred due to events beyond Thomas’ control. Any signs of agitation at the scene were due to the traumatic nature of the incident.
Jurors agreed and returned with a verdict of not guilty on November 19.
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Michael & Associates is an Austin-based criminal defense law firm specializing in DWI defense.
Rebecca Stumpf manages content research and editing for Michael & Associates. She is an award-winning journalist with 30+ years of experience working for daily newspapers. Her work has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Business Insider and DallasNews.com.
Rebecca Stumpf manages content research and editing for Michael & Associates. She is an award-winning journalist with 30+ years of experience working for daily newspapers. Her work has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Business Insider and DallasNews.com.