Attorney Thomas J. Moskal's Legal Cases

DUI and DWI

State of Nevada v. Jordan Barson

Dec 10, 2020

OUTCOME: Sentenced to 16-40 years in prison

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/ex-prosecutor-troopers-mistakes-marred-fatal-dui-case-2483711/amp/ My interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal about my last case as a prosecutor. In the late ... morning hours of December 10, 2020, Jordan Barson struck a group of cyclists with his box truck in broad daylight, killing five and seriously injuring two. Barson ended up having enough meth in his system to overdose; however, NHP troopers did not suspect DUI and did not even apply for a search warrant to get a blood test. The gaffs in the investigation led to an early plea deal from the DA's office. There was significant potential for the defense to get the blood test evidence thrown out of the case, meaning Barson may have walked with a few misdemeanor convictions, so it was paramount to get a plea deal secured. All things considered, I achieved a good outcome for the victims; Judge Bita Yeager sentenced him to 16-40 years in prison. But it's hard for the community and the victims to understand how a person kills five and gets to plead guilty to only two counts. I gave my resignation to DA Steve Wolfson a few hours before the two-day sentencing hearing began. This case, along with many others, had taken its toll on me. When I left the DA's office, I reached out to Nevada Highway Patrol to see if I could help train and improve things there, but they were not interested, instead opting to do things the way they've always done. Maybe as a defense attorney, I can facilitate some change. Law enforcement seldom has to face up to mistakes such as this because most defense attorneys do not know how to mount a proper challenge in court. I do.

DUI and DWI

State of Nevada v. Aylin Alderette

Aug 31, 2018

OUTCOME: Sentenced to 24-60 years in prison

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-woman-sentenced-for-crash-that-killed-8-year-old-boy-1532589/ During school bus morning hours on August 31, 2018, Aylin Alderette was driving ove ... r 100 mph, running red light after red light, in heavy traffic. Surveillance even showed her veering around stopped traffic at red lights. She ultimately T-boned a family, killing an 8-year-old boy and injuring both his parents. Blood results showed that she had most likely smoke marijuana just prior to getting into the vehicle that morning. When police asked why she was driving so fast, she responded that she was late for work, and had been late so many times that one more would result in her losing her job.

DUI and DWI

State of Nevada v. Antonio Macedo

Aug 28, 2018

OUTCOME: Sentenced to 10-30 years in prison

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-judge-sends-man-to-prison-for-dui-that-killed-2-1638845/ Las Vegas Review Journal article on the sentencing of a DUI Death case that I prosecuted ... . In 2018, Antonio Macedo hit a parked car on the I-11 killing two and seriously injuring another while DUI. He had a prior DUI, and his own child was in his car. Judge Jerry Wiese sentenced Macedo to 10-30 years in prison. The full article is linked below.

DUI and DWI

State of Nevada v. Daniel Becker

Dec 13, 2017

OUTCOME: Sentenced to 21-60 years in prison

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/las-vegas-man-sentenced-for-crash-that-killed-3-pedestrians-1567642/ Las Vegas Review Journal article on a sentencing of a DUI triple-death case I prosecut ... ed. On December 13, 2017, Daniel Becker was high on marijuana when he had a minor rear-end fender-bender with another car. Instead of remaining at the scene, he reversed into the car behind him, hopped the raised median, and sped the wrong way down Eastern Avenue. Moments later, Becker's car butchered a pack of pedestrians who were crossing the busy intersection of Flamingo and Eastern, killing three, strewing dismembered body parts all over the road. A severed leg flew through the window of a passing car, knocking the driver unconscious, causing that car to lose control and crash a few blocks east of the intersection. Police did not even realize this secondary crash was related until the severed leg was found in the backseat and matched to one of the victims from the intersection. At sentencing, Becker pleaded for leniency, claiming that the driving conduct was the result of an epileptic seizure, that he smoked marijuana to help his epilepsy, and that the marijuana in his system was from smoking over twelve hours prior (a scientific impossibility at those levels--he was 9x the legal limit for the psycho-active metabolite, which is proven to dissipate to very low levels within an hour or two after smoking). However, the evidence showed that Becker was extremely high, and was likely fleeing the scene of a crash to avoid a charge for DUI or driving w/o a license. And even if the court accepted the seizure story, if a driver has knowledge that he is prone to seizures and continues to drive, then that driver is recklessly disregarding everyone's safety as a matter of law. To demonstrate Becker's prior knowledge, I introduced officer-worn body camera evidence showing that Becker had struck a light pole just months prior to the collision, had blamed it on a seizure, and had been warned by the responding officer that he was lucky there were not any pedestrians on that sidewalk that day. On the body camera footage, Becker responded to the officer that he had to keep driving because he needs to work. On January 7, 2019, Judge Ron Israel sentenced Becker to 21-60 years in prison.

Thomas J. Moskal's Legal Cases (4)

State of Nevada v. Jordan Barson

State of Nevada v. Aylin Alderette

State of Nevada v. Antonio Macedo

State of Nevada v. Daniel Becker