Edmond Pomroy Balding, who is 90 years old, arrived at Courtroom 410 for his 11:30 a.m. sentencing Friday, pushing a wheeled walker.
He was expected to plead guilty to criminally negligent homicide in the death Amber Michelle Lapine. His defense attorney and the Multnomah County deputy district attorney had agreed to a proposed punishment to present to Circuit Court Judge Karin Immergut.
On March 18, Balding hit the 34-year-old as she walked in a marked crosswalk – its flash beacons illuminated — on Northeast Glisan Street near 117th Avenue. Balding was driving about 30 miles per hour and never applied his brakes before hitting Lapine, who was thrown about 52 feet, a police investigator determined. The weather was clear at 12:41 p.m., the time of the crash. Lapine died nine days later at OHSU Hospital, on March 27.
Balding, a World War II veteran and former long-haul truck driver who had never been arrested, sat at the defense table Friday in Courtroom 410 next to his attorney, John Gutbezahl. His son, Greg Balding, sat behind him. His wife, Ruth Balding, was in a hospital, recovering from a recent fall.
It quickly became apparent the hearing would not go smoothly.
Even though he wore headphones – as well as personal hearing aids — to better listen to Immergut and Gutbezahl, Balding struggled to follow the proceedings.
Soon after the hearing began, Immergut left the judge’s bench to descend and stand directly in front of Balding. The judge asked him repeatedly if he understood the charge against him. Balding stared back at her, saying nothing.
Gutbezahl intervened, explaining that he’d met with Balding and his family members at least six times since the fatal crash. And Gutbezahl visited Balding at his Montavilla-area house on Thursday, showing him the poster-size reproductions of the plea petition that he brought to the courtroom. Balding understood then what would be taking place Friday, Gutbezahl said.
But Balding offered no responses to Immergut’s questions or gave replies that did not relate to the question asked.
After a half hour of confusion, Immergut told Gutbezahl that she was uncomfortable with Balding’s understanding of the charge against him and whether he was clear he was pleading guilty. She told Gutbezahl she’d allow him to confer with his client over lunch and return to her courtroom at 1:30 p.m.
“I can’t accept your plea of guilty,” said Immergut, Oregon’s U.S. Attorney from 2003 to 2009, “unless I know you understand what you’re doing.”
Shortly before 1:30, Balding emerged from a room adjacent to Courtroom 410, and slowly shuffled behind his wheeled walker to the defense table.
At Immergut’s request, Gutbezahl explained in detail his explanation to Balding about the charge he faced, his option of seeking a trial and the plea agreement he’d been offered.
While Balding would interject at times that he did not want to have a trial because he thought it would be stressful, he also said occasionally that Lapine’s death was not entirely his fault and that “I am not a bad person.”
Deputy District Attorney Elisabeth Waner told the judge that Lapine’s father had chosen to not attend Friday’s hearing. But Waner said Lapine’s father had said that if Lapine could speak at the hearing, she would recommend that Balding not be forced to spend time in jail and that his driving privileges be revoked. Lapine was a very religious person, Waner said.
After more discussion, Immergut accepted Balding’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 60 months of probation, to be supervised by her court staff, and that his driving privileges – which the state Department of Motor Vehicles suspended after the crash – be permanently revoked.
The incident has ruined his life, Balding told the judge at one point, adding that he’d given away the car that killed Lapine.
