Joseph Beer guilty of second-degree manslaughter in deadly crash trial

MINEOLA, N.Y. (WABC) -- A partial verdict of guilty has been reached on Long Island in the trial of a teenager accused of killing his four friends while driving high on marijuana.

Joseph Beer has been found guilty on four counts of second-degree manslaughter, reckless driving and second-degree reckless endangerment. The jury did not reach a verdict on the top count of aggravated vehicular homicide or the counts involving impairment.

The prosecution claimed a deadly combination of drugs and driving more than 100 miles per hour led to the deadly crash. Joseph Beer, 19, lost control of his car in West Hempstead two years ago and slammed into a tree, killing four passengers, it claims.

Bryant Barr, the stepfather of one victim commented after the verdict. "I don't think we will ever find closure," he said. "Joseph can always see his parents. We can never see Peter."

After the verdict, Beer's father said that his son was 17 at the time of the incident. "There's a certain group of those friends that drive fast cars ... just like

Joseph did ... and many of them are looking at what's going on," he said. "I can't speak of how important this is ... for people to see that driving like that, has consequences."

In closing arguments Monday, the prosecution said Beer "tempted fate" by getting high and speeding prior to the crash.

"Speed and weed - that's what caused this crash," Assistant District Attorney Michael Bushwack said. "The faster he drove, the greater the risk his friends would die. This defendant caused this to happen."

Beer's attorney Todd Greenberg argued his client doesn't deny smoking marijuana the day of the October 2012 crash but said there is a discrepancy about when he smoked it. An ambulance medical technician who responded to the scene testified that Beer told him he smoked $20 worth of marijuana immediately before driving. His lawyer said that's not the case and that Beer was smoking weed before he left his house and was not impaired at the time of the crash.

Greenberg told jurors, "There is absolutely no evidence of impairment by marijuana in this case."

Jurors, who previously indicated they were deadlocked, sent a note Friday to Judge David Sullivan saying they could not reach a verdict on all the counts. Sullivan told jurors he will accept their partial verdict.

On Tuesday, the jury said it was at an impasse, but the judge told them to keep trying because members hadn't deliberated long enough. On Friday, they told him they are "spinning our wheels" repeating same arguments and they have "nothing left to deliberate" beyond the partial verdict.