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Plea plan angers family of woman killed in crash
By Dwayne Robinson

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, March 26, 2006

LANTANA — For three days in September, 16-year-old Tawsha Dahmer lied to her father to keep him alive.

The same motorcycle crash that shattered his leg, hip and back a day before Steve Dahmer's 43rd birthday had killed his wife of 17 years, Kimberly Jo.

No one had the nerve to tell him.

"She was in a better condition than you because she was in heaven," Tawsha told her father Saturday, steps from where the Dahmers' motorcycle collided with the back of an SUV parked amidst oncoming traffic exactly six months ago.

Sedatives quelled his anger in the hospital, when he had first heard of his wife's death. The anger is rising again because the Lantana man feels his next remedy — justice — also will elude him.

Prosecutors are expected to offer 21-year-old Daniel Rodgriuez Mendoza, an illegal immigrant and repeated traffic offender blamed in the accident, a plea deal Tuesday morning. He is charged with driving without a license and leaving the scene of crash that resulted in death.

The deal may require Mendoza's immediate deportation, meaning his total jail sentence would be six months for the fatal accident, which also seriously injured two bikers. "He should do life without the possibility of parole, and he needs to think about that for the rest of his life. He took my best friend, my kids' mother and my soulmate," Dahmer said.

"What's the guarantee he's not going to come back to this country? They put him back in Mexico, he'll be back in Texas the day after."

The Sept. 25 accident and subsequent plea deal not only have angered the Dahmer family but also have raised questions about a legal system that critics accuse of being a revolving door for illegal immigrants.

Prosecutors won't answer Dahmer's questions or the Post's regarding the plea deal, at least not until Mendoza accepts or rejects the offer Tuesday morning at the Palm Beach County Courthouse.

Because both of Mendoza's charges involved a loss of life and serious injuries, he faces two felonies. Typically a misdemeanor, his driving without a license charge in this case could have landed him five years in jail, according to Florida law. The other charge is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The Dahmer family not only questions why Palm Beach County prosecutors are not seeking the maximum penalties but also wants additional charges.

What might make either of those two propositions difficult is that both motorcycle drivers who crashed into the back of Mendoza's 1988 Chevy Blazer Sept. 25 were legally intoxicated, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigation. No one was wearing a helmet.

The accident occurred on a Sunday evening as Mendoza, southbound on South Military Trail, made a U-turn, then stopped in the middle of northbound traffic to recover his cellphone, which was lying in the road, according to police reports.

The 1996 Harley-Davidson carrying the Dahmers and another bike crashed into the SUV south of Lantana Road, throwing and killing Kimberly Jo Dahmer, a 42-year-old mother of two. Mendoza then attempted to leave the scene of the crash, an accident report said.

"He left us in the road like garbage," Steve Dahmer said.

But Steve Dahmer, police reported, had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. The other motorcyclist, Pierre Nadeau, 49, of West Palm Beach, who also was transporting a female passenger, reportedly had a blood-alcohol level about twice the point at which the law presumes someone is too drunk to drive, police said.

Steve Dahmer said they both have been charged with driving under the influence. He says he doesn't recall having any alcohol before the crash. Nadeau told police he did have a beer earlier in Boynton Beach, the accident report stated.

Nevertheless, the sheriff's office investigation concluded Mendoza's actions caused the accident, the report stated.

Mendoza's arrest in September was the fifth time he has been charged in driving without a license. He also was in a previous accident and previously cited for speeding.

"They keep letting him go and letting him go and now that he's killed somebody, now they want to deport him?" Tawsha Dahmer said. "They should have deported him the first time. They knew he was illegal."

Nationwide, as fears loom about national security and national identity, illegal immigration, particularly from the southern border, has come to the forefront, especially as Congress considers revamping immigration laws.

Steve Dahmer said he plans to join the national campaign to fight for stricter immigration rules and enforcement.

But first, he said, he wants justice for his wife, not a "slap on the wrist."

"Me and my wife talked about getting rocking chairs together, retirement, everything," said the 6-foot-2, cowboy-hat wearing, tattooed biker choking back tears Saturday. "It's just not right. It's not right."