7/24/23 Trial of Usman Shahid -- driver who killed two Oakton teens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am like Switzerland.
I am here to say I think it RUDE and Disrespectful to cheer or clap when someone is found guilty. I think the person should be fine or be thorn out the court room, if they don't listen transfer them to the ADC.

2nd. if someone like Mr. Shahid, who seems very clam and respect to the courtroom he should be arrested after sentencing. or 2nd aresst him at the end of the day, not in front of KIDS or family and friends watching him. cou

You are SO transparent.

But also, why on earth did family bring young children, knowing he was most likely going to be convicted and arrested?

Exactly

[Anonymous]

He’s in for a LOT of plain Bologna sandwiches.

[Anonymous]

He is still very young, probably under 21 so I doubt he has much say in pleading guilty or not, he probably follows lawyer's orders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did he also learn his sentence today? Missed that part trying to wade thru all the bs on this thread.

Tomorrow I think.

That’s a few months away, he will get a recommendation tomorrow but official is still a few months away. I will give you a clear example for tomorrow sentences.
Hypothetically, the jury agree 5 years in jail. Then the judge will set a sentencing date. That date the judge will sentence him to the amount giving or he can reduce it to something else, he doesn’t have that option to increase the time.

It’s worth noting that Judge Bellows is a heavy sentencing judge. I would expect he will give the maximum allowed by the jury decision.

The fact that the judge ordered Shahid taken into custody does NOT bode well for a light sentence. The judge did not allow the defendant to stay out of jail until a sentence was issued. That means the judge believes the guy is guilty and possibly is a flight risk. Shahid is going to get a lesson that they don't teach at Va Tech.

I said it earlier in this thread and I'll repeat it here. My guess is that no one wants to ruin this man's life. But, the jury/judge want to teach him a lesson that you can't KILL two young, innocent girls, and injure a third, and just say "my bad" and go about your life. He HAS to feel some pain for his incredibly selfish, careless decisions. So, I expect that he gets 2-3 yrs for each count. The judge runs them concurrently, and suspends half of the time based on good behavior. Shahid has to serve 2-3 yrs in prison with 2-3 suspended. That gives him time to think about his terrible decisions in jail, but it's not so long as to destroy his future. And the suspended time hangs over his head so that if he screws up again, he has more jail time waiting.

Honestly, I rather see him have 4 yrs in jail. But, I think juries/judges are soft on young people who could turn their lives around.

Maybe if at some point he had even said “my bad” it would make sense that he should such a lenient sentence. I hope he receives the maximum sentence. He will still be very young and can lead a long life after serving whatever will be required of the maximum sentence.

If he had pled, and been remorseful from the get-go, I bet he never would have done jail time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did he also learn his sentence today? Missed that part trying to wade thru all the bs on this thread.

Tomorrow I think.

That’s a few months away, he will get a recommendation tomorrow but official is still a few months away. I will give you a clear example for tomorrow sentences.
Hypothetically, the jury agree 5 years in jail. Then the judge will set a sentencing date. That date the judge will sentence him to the amount giving or he can reduce it to something else, he doesn’t have that option to increase the time.

It’s worth noting that Judge Bellows is a heavy sentencing judge. I would expect he will give the maximum allowed by the jury decision.

The fact that the judge ordered Shahid taken into custody does NOT bode well for a light sentence. The judge did not allow the defendant to stay out of jail until a sentence was issued. That means the judge believes the guy is guilty and possibly is a flight risk. Shahid is going to get a lesson that they don't teach at Va Tech.

I said it earlier in this thread and I'll repeat it here. My guess is that no one wants to ruin this man's life. But, the jury/judge want to teach him a lesson that you can't KILL two young, innocent girls, and injure a third, and just say "my bad" and go about your life. He HAS to feel some pain for his incredibly selfish, careless decisions. So, I expect that he gets 2-3 yrs for each count. The judge runs them concurrently, and suspends half of the time based on good behavior. Shahid has to serve 2-3 yrs in prison with 2-3 suspended. That gives him time to think about his terrible decisions in jail, but it's not so long as to destroy his future. And the suspended time hangs over his head so that if he screws up again, he has more jail time waiting.

Honestly, I rather see him have 4 yrs in jail. But, I think juries/judges are soft on young people who could turn their lives around.

I think that’s incredibly wishful thinking when facing 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been watching this group for a while.

We own BMWs and I would never ever gift my 18 year old kid a brand new one. Why?? He didn’t even have a license. These cars are way too fast and should never be driven by teens. His parents are so irresponsible and immature.

Driving 80+ mph?? Are you kidding me? A BMW driven at that speed is a weapon. I am so glad the jury found him guilty.

Those poor poor girls!!!!!!

What happened was tragic but BMW's are popular among wealthy parents because they are solid and have good safety ratings.

[Anonymous]

The sentence does not just punish the defendant but also serves as a deterrent for others who might act with such negligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious how sentencing will go. Is Shahid going to accept any responsibility for the girls’ deaths? He hasn’t done so yet, since his legal strategy was to blame the other driver. So will he take a different approach for sentencing? And will the jury and judge find it credible? I have no idea how this works. It’s so unusual to see a slam-dunk vehicular manslaughter case like this actually go to trial.

Well, now reality sets in. Shahid should have taken a plea. The fact that he went to trial indicates to me that he/his family were convinced the couldn't be convicted. Will they accept the advice of his attorney now? Shahid's best bet is to beg for a lenient sentence. Any appeal will almost certainly fail.

Does anyone know if Shahid will testify tomorrow during the sentencing phase? I don't know criminal procedure in VA.

I would bet $100 that Shahid will take the stand tomorrow and break down in tears over how sorry his is for the parents' loss of the girls. He won't say he's sorry for causing the accident. He'll say that he wishes that day never happened (never admitting his responsibility) and he'll be crying and blubbering about how it all happened so fast that the SUV driver was in the road and he couldn't react. And he'll talk about wanting to be an engineer or a psychologist or whatever he's studying to be, and how he needs to help support his family and how this whole ordeal has been so hard on his parents. He'll be dressed in a sweater and a blue shirt that is soft and non-confrontational to make him look younger and more sympathetic. It's all performative and staged. Some of his tears may actually be real because he spent tonight in jail and his tears will be for himself and his fear of spending more nights in jail.

The jury may be swayed. The judge has seen this many times before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been watching this group for a while.

We own BMWs and I would never ever gift my 18 year old kid a brand new one. Why?? He didn’t even have a license. These cars are way too fast and should never be driven by teens. His parents are so irresponsible and immature.

Driving 80+ mph?? Are you kidding me? A BMW driven at that speed is a weapon. I am so glad the jury found him guilty.

Those poor poor girls!!!!!!

What happened was tragic but BMW's are popular among wealthy parents because they are solid and have good safety ratings.

Case in point!

Shahid's BMW was actually a very safe car for the driver and the three passengers! They walked out of that with little more than a bump despite hitting an SUV head on, hitting three people, hitting a utility box, and taking out a large/thick utility pole!

BMW's sure are safe for the occupants. Not so safe for the innocent bystanders on the sidewalk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not saying the defendant isn’t guilty and deserves to walkout. I believe whatever he gets the other driver should get too as it’s both parties fault. If shahid was never speeding no one would’ve died and if ben checked the intersection like he’s legally obliged too and stopped no one also would’ve died. The only thing that disgusts me is how one side got away with it while one had to suffer all the consequences.

Even assuming there was some blame on the SUV driver (I don't agree with this, but let's just go with it), he played his cards right - cooperated with prosecution and got immunity. Shahid had a chance to plea, but decided to take this to trial. He got exactly what he deserved for his stupidity 2 years ago and after the accident.

I think he already pay the price, the parents yelled at him a lot for it.

Being at fault aside, likely whole family is living a emotional, financial and social nightmare. One day your 18 year old is graduating and going to college and next day he is in a lethal accident and being charged for manslaughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did he also learn his sentence today? Missed that part trying to wade thru all the bs on this thread.

Tomorrow I think.

That’s a few months away, he will get a recommendation tomorrow but official is still a few months away. I will give you a clear example for tomorrow sentences.
Hypothetically, the jury agree 5 years in jail. Then the judge will set a sentencing date. That date the judge will sentence him to the amount giving or he can reduce it to something else, he doesn’t have that option to increase the time.

It’s worth noting that Judge Bellows is a heavy sentencing judge. I would expect he will give the maximum allowed by the jury decision.

The fact that the judge ordered Shahid taken into custody does NOT bode well for a light sentence. The judge did not allow the defendant to stay out of jail until a sentence was issued. That means the judge believes the guy is guilty and possibly is a flight risk. Shahid is going to get a lesson that they don't teach at Va Tech.

I said it earlier in this thread and I'll repeat it here. My guess is that no one wants to ruin this man's life. But, the jury/judge want to teach him a lesson that you can't KILL two young, innocent girls, and injure a third, and just say "my bad" and go about your life. He HAS to feel some pain for his incredibly selfish, careless decisions. So, I expect that he gets 2-3 yrs for each count. The judge runs them concurrently, and suspends half of the time based on good behavior. Shahid has to serve 2-3 yrs in prison with 2-3 suspended. That gives him time to think about his terrible decisions in jail, but it's not so long as to destroy his future. And the suspended time hangs over his head so that if he screws up again, he has more jail time waiting.

Honestly, I rather see him have 4 yrs in jail. But, I think juries/judges are soft on young people who could turn their lives around.

I think that’s incredibly wishful thinking when facing 20 years.

You’re in for disappointment. This type of crime just isn’t punished that severely in most cases. 2-3 years of actual time in prison sounds a bit light, but I wouldn’t expect more than 4-6.

[Anonymous]

NBC 4 IS LYING when they say he didn't so any emotion we all showed emotion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not saying the defendant isn’t guilty and deserves to walkout. I believe whatever he gets the other driver should get too as it’s both parties fault. If shahid was never speeding no one would’ve died and if ben checked the intersection like he’s legally obliged too and stopped no one also would’ve died. The only thing that disgusts me is how one side got away with it while one had to suffer all the consequences.

Even assuming there was some blame on the SUV driver (I don't agree with this, but let's just go with it), he played his cards right - cooperated with prosecution and got immunity. Shahid had a chance to plea, but decided to take this to trial. He got exactly what he deserved for his stupidity 2 years ago and after the accident.

I think he already pay the price, the parents yelled at him a lot for it.

Being at fault aside, likely whole family is living an emotional, financial and social nightmare. One day your 18 year old is graduating and going to college and next day he is in a lethal accident and being charged for manslaughter.

As they should be for gifting their 18 year old learner’s permit son a BMW to drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is still very young, probably under 21 so I doubt he has much say in pleading guilty or not, he probably follows lawyer's orders.

That's DEFINITELY NOT how it works. The lawyer doesn't care if you plead guilty. The client decides to plead guilty or go to trial. In this case, since the client was pretty young, he probably was doing what his parents told him to do. They probably said "it's not your fault, so don't plead guilty." I doubt the prosecutor was willing to make a plea deal without jail time. The prosecutor would HAVE to secure SOME jail time in a deal when there are two dead bodies on the sidewalk. Shahid and/or his parents were unwilling to accept that he would spend any time in jail ... and so there was a trial. They paid for the best that money could buy. But, the facts were against them. Greenspun could only do so much with his arguments. I bet the prosecutor was willing to a deal of one year in jail for each girl killed. Now... Shahid is going to do more than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not saying the defendant isn’t guilty and deserves to walkout. I believe whatever he gets the other driver should get too as it’s both parties fault. If shahid was never speeding no one would’ve died and if ben checked the intersection like he’s legally obliged too and stopped no one also would’ve died. The only thing that disgusts me is how one side got away with it while one had to suffer all the consequences.

Even assuming there was some blame on the SUV driver (I don't agree with this, but let's just go with it), he played his cards right - cooperated with prosecution and got immunity. Shahid had a chance to plea, but decided to take this to trial. He got exactly what he deserved for his stupidity 2 years ago and after the accident.

I think he already pay the price, the parents yelled at him a lot for it.

Being at fault aside, likely whole family is living an emotional, financial and social nightmare. One day your 18 year old is graduating and going to college and next day he is in a lethal accident and being charged for manslaughter.

He was not “in” a lethal accident. He CAUSED a lethal accident. And now he’s UPSET that he’s in trouble. He’s sorry he’s in trouble. But there’s been nothing to indicate that he’s sorry THAT HE KILLED 2 PEOPLE.