Berg Strikes Plea Deal In ‘Hit-And-Run’ Trial
EL PASO — Twenty-one-year-old Adam Michael Berg pleaded guilty to two chargesFriday evening,ending jury deliberations in his trial for manslaughter.
Berg was accusedof hitting and killing 51-year-old John Dennis May while jogging three years ago. Police say he struck and killed May near Country Club Road.
Berg pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony, and failure to stop and render aid. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for the first charge and five years in prison for the second, which he will serve concurrently.
Under the plea deal he must serve at least half the sentence.
Both defense attorneys and city prosecutors delivered their closing argumentsin Berg’s trial Friday afternoon.
Defense Lawyer Jim Darnell asked jurors to decide if Berg was “reckless” when the crash happened.
Berg argued that the crash was unavoidable because the street is unpaved. Prosecutors asked the jury not to “buy it.”
District Judge Patrick Garcia dismissed one male juror who fell asleep during parts of the trial.
The jury was made up of eight men and four women. Jury deliberations began just before noon on Friday.
