Avary Given Work Furlough
Screenwriter begins serving one-year sentence with work release
By Daryl Kelley
Oscar-winning screenwriter and Ojai Valley resident Roger Avary was booked into Ventura County Jail on Monday to begin serving a one-year sentence for felony manslaughter, and was immediately placed in a work-furlough program.
The work-furlough program allows low-risk inmates to go to their jobs and return to custody after their workdays. Inmates in the program pay the county a fee for their custody.
“Someone like Roger, who can contribute to society, ought to be doing that at the same time as he serves his sentence,” said attorney Mark Werksman, who represents the writer-director-producer. “It allows him to pay his debt to society as he serves his sentence, instead of being warehoused.”
Avary, 44, was sentenced last month to one year in jail and five years probation for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resulting from a late-night car crash in which an Italian newlywed was killed and Avary’s wife was injured.
When sentencing Avary last month, Judge Edward Brodie directed that a work-furlough screening be completed to see if Avary qualified. So, after Avary reported to the county jail for booking at 7 a.m. Monday, he was directed to the work-furlough detention facility in Camarillo, officials confirmed.
An attorney for the family of crash-victim Andrea Zini could not be reached for comment. But family members, who had flown from Italy for the sentencing, left the courtroom crying and dejected, refusing Avary’s invitation to speak with them.
Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of at least six years.
But Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Frawley declined this week to say much about the sentence, or Avary’s acceptance into the work-furlough program.
“I don’t think we want to be commenting on that,” he said. “The judge ruled, so we don’t have any further comment.
“But this sentence is not unique,” Frawley added. “Other people who have killed someone with an alcohol-related crime have received a year in jail, rather than prison. Every case turns on a different set of facts. We argued for prison because of the especially egregious facts in this case.”
Zini, a 34-year-old mechanical engineer, was killed when an impaired Avary lost control of his speeding Mercedes sedan on a curve and smashed into a telephone pole on Highway 150 near Ojai Lumber.
Avary had just met the Italian couple that evening in January 2008, and he invited them to his home after sharing dinner and drinks with common friends. Zini’s wife was not in the car.
Avary admitted guilt to five felonies last month, and faced a maximum of 12 years and eight months in prison, or a minimum sentence of six years and eight months, if Brodie decided to send him to state prison. Prosecutors asked for the six-year minimum.
During sentencing, attorneys announced that Avary had settled for $4.1 million a civil lawsuit filed by the Zini family, after hiring his own independent lawyer to press his auto insurance company for a swift settlement.
That factor, along with Avary’s clean criminal and driving record before the Jan. 13, 2008 crash, were key considerations in his sentence, Judge Brodie said. Avary’s stellar life story, obvious remorse and the need for him to support his wife and two children, were also factors in his decision, the judge said.
Avary, an Academy Award winner for “Pulp Fiction” in 1994, apologized for his admitted crime, and he and his wife, Gretchen, tearfully requested forgiveness from the Zini family.
Brodie said he had considered imprisoning Avary, who he concluded had made “fatal errors,” by drinking too much and driving far too fast.
“What happened was fairly predictable on a country road like that,” the judge said. “A life was lost for no apparent good reason … (but) not because Mr. Avary intended to take a life.”
Brodie chose a more lenient sentence partly because “of the life you have led,” he told Avary.
While Deputy District Attorney Michael Lief had asked for a prison sentence partly because of what he saw as a lack of remorse, the prosecutor said the judge’s sentence of one year in jail, five years probation and attendance in an alcohol education program, was “perhaps appropriate,” given the judge’s explanation.
“This is a case deserving of a prison sentence,” Lief said then. “But I can’t say the court was wrong.”
During the September hearing, Avary told of “the gravity of despair that I feel … I’ve been consumed by grief.”
And he said he would make amends in any way he could to the Zini family, and to his own.
After apologizing to the Zini family, Gretchen Avary asked the judge to give her husband a chance to continue to make a living and to provide restitution.
Werksman noted that Avary is working on two films and that the jobs of hundreds of workers would be affected if he went to jail. Werksman asked that Avary be allowed to leave Ventura County to work on his films while in the work-furlough program.
The judge said that decision would be made at a later time.
Werksman said Monday that he has not yet filed a formal request with the court asking that Avary be allowed to leave the county to work on his films.
Avary pleaded guilty last month to felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and causing injury while driving under the influence of alcohol. He also admitted to three felony violations of the state vehicle code.
Prosecutors said Avary had a blood-alcohol level of .11, while a level of .08 or greater constitutes drunken driving in California. Prosecutors also maintained that skid marks showed Avary was driving at 100 mph and that his sedan crashed into the pole at a speed of 25 to 35 mph.
Defense lawyers acknowledge that Avary was driving faster than the 45 mph speed limit, but far slower than 100 mph. They also said that a blown tire caused the accident, and a dangerous road contributed to it.
Hand the reins of the films he is working on over to someone else. I mean I am glad he feels bad about driving too fast and killing someone but letting him continue to be mr. BigSHot and direct films and provide $$$ for his wife and family seems too amazingly wonderful to be believed. Where is the punishment? Is he going to clean the cages at the humane society? Is he going to clean up the litter on the sides of the freeway?
BornNaked
27 Oct 09 at 8:52 pm
Amen. What a slap on the wrists huh? Pathetic. Another example of how there’s a different set of punishments for those with money than those who don’t have as much. I agree, scoop the poop, scoop the poop!!
Anon
27 Oct 09 at 9:20 pm
When sentencing Avary last month, Judge Edward Brodie directed that a work-furlough screening be completed to see if Avary qualified. So, after Avary reported to the county jail for booking at 7 a.m. Monday, he and Judge Brodie went out for cocktails.
Crown Royal please
27 Oct 09 at 11:01 pm
I’ll bet Judge Brodie didn’t get in the car with him though.
Anon
28 Oct 09 at 7:59 am
Dinner and cocktails in Ojai $200
Mr. Zini’s death $4.1 million
Mr. Avary’s sentence 12 months work furlough?
What is the message? Money trumps justice.
anonymous
28 Oct 09 at 8:17 am
It’s all about the attorney and the highest priced atty’s get the best results. If you don’t have the dough – there’s no work furlough and it’s off to jail you go!!
new yorker
28 Oct 09 at 8:50 am
This nation blows.
Scott
28 Oct 09 at 8:54 am
Remind me what his punishment was again????? The jerk’s going 100 mph down Ojai Ave., kills somebody, and after a lengthy court process is back making movies with a slap on the wrist.
It’s pretty obvious that the court was starstruck by a Hollywood murderer.
Anonymous
28 Oct 09 at 9:18 am
so does he work during the day, then report to jail at night??
details
28 Oct 09 at 9:36 am
Mr. Avary’s attorney Mark Werksman was worth every penny that Mr. Avary paid. He gets off with work furlough and has the insurance company pay off the wrongful death suit to the Zini family. Money talks, bullsh*t walks.
anonymous
28 Oct 09 at 10:26 am
exactly!
new yorker
28 Oct 09 at 11:50 am
He should have gotten the death sentence.
JUSTICE
28 Oct 09 at 12:14 pm
murders and rapists are not in the same league as this blow hard, so calm down.
come now
28 Oct 09 at 2:01 pm
I agree with come now. I think the underlying problem is the probability of alcoholism and irresponsibility which go hand in hand, but, the main problem with the lack of punishment in this case is ALL ABOUT THE ATTORNEYS
new yorker
28 Oct 09 at 4:33 pm
Yes the case was about the attorneys, but where is the judicial wisdom of Judge Edward Brodie. He had discretion of sentencing, and the district attorney did not put up much of a fight. Something smells here!
anonymous
28 Oct 09 at 6:00 pm
So lets see what happens to the bus driver who got a DUI in September. Although gratful no one was injured or killed unlike Mr. Avarys case will she get a slap on the wrist, have to serve any time, pay fines, get help (like AA or TREATMENT). Does Mr. Avary have to go to a sober living facility after his furlough? Why doesn’t anyone seem to get that Drinking and Driving DO NOT MIX!!!!!! Are any of these people even truly and I mean truly SORRY for their actions? Please don’t say ( I’ve never done anything like this before) B.S.
OJAI NATIVE
28 Oct 09 at 7:35 pm
We’re a nation of laws. But there are so many cracks and shortcuts through those laws that some people walk away without any penalty, even for killing an innocent human being. Our legislators make these laws. How many of them drink and drive?
Sholom
28 Oct 09 at 10:52 pm
Our legislators make these laws. How many of them drink and drive? Whats wrong with drinking and driving, Ted & Patrick Kennedy.
Drunk Drivers
29 Oct 09 at 9:24 am
Could it be that Italians have little value and then consequently the punishment is less. Remember in 1998 in Aviano Italy a US Marine EA-6B severed a gondola cable at a ski resort killing 20 passengers. So if you are an American and you kill an Italian no worries. (deleted) It is a sick world.
anonymous
29 Oct 09 at 10:29 am
How about facts idiots!Where is the woman who caused the accident and left them for dead never even calling 911 and coming forward four days later with written statement from an attorney.
(deleted) OMG where is TRUE JUSTICE????????
Kim
29 Oct 09 at 10:50 am
Are you all just going to complain about how the laws are only fair if you have money ? Or are you going to take the time and discover why we are in this situation? It is not the left against the right it goes much deeper down the rabbit hole. First get angry and scream out loud ” I am not going to take it anymore” Next start your reasearch. Here is an interesting site. http://abundanthope.net/pages/article_3490.shtml
Time to Expose the Lies
29 Oct 09 at 2:01 pm
Kim the woman you were claiming caused the accident was out drinking with the bus driver.
Anonymous
29 Oct 09 at 4:19 pm
Scott, where would you rather be? “if this Nation Blows”
Anonymous
29 Oct 09 at 4:23 pm
Bottom line: Justice is for sale in this country or any other country for that matter. It is the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules.
Anonymous
29 Oct 09 at 5:59 pm
Roman Polanski wants a change of venue to Ventura County and Judge Brodie.
cuyama
29 Oct 09 at 9:25 pm
Judge , “We know you didn’t MEAN to harm Mr. Zini, you silly little schniztleputz! Now go out there and direct movies, provide for your wife and family, say your prayers at night and report to your star struck probabation officer once a month.”
BornNaked
30 Oct 09 at 8:44 am
I can’t believe he used the excuse of I have to direct these movies, the livlihood of so many depend upon them. It’s like ‘blood movies’. Working on such a movie would put blood on your hands. Mr. Zini’s blood is paying their salaries.
BornNaked
30 Oct 09 at 8:46 am
Boycott the movies! In fact boycott Mr. Avary from doing any business in Ojai. He has blood on his hands.
anonymous
30 Oct 09 at 1:54 pm
Hollywood blows!
sukit
30 Oct 09 at 4:56 pm
What piece of crap films is this guy working on?
Anonymous
30 Oct 09 at 5:18 pm
Report to your star struck probation officer once a month, throw back a few cocktails, discuss the crappy movies you are working on drive home drunk.
Crown Royal please!
30 Oct 09 at 5:25 pm
No, don’t boycott movies, boycott movies directed by Avary.
BornNaked
30 Oct 09 at 5:35 pm
He who is sinless cast the first stone! Mr. Avary participated in ONE “accident”.How about our neighbors that grow, use and sell drugs for their OWN profit and welfare daily? Or the adults that would rather be “COOL” than parents and allow minors to drink and smoke pot in their homes. How about the extensive list of child molesters in our area? ALL of them are self serving and contribute nothing of value to our neighborhoods and community. Your all just as aware as I am but you choose to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to the real issues that need to be addressed. So tonight when you go to bed keep one finger pointing at Roger, one in each ear so you don’t hear the kids being abused and one in each eye so you don’t witness a drug sale across the street.
Kim
31 Oct 09 at 11:36 am
“Kim” you make no sense. All sins are not created equal and parents who allow their kids to break the law will suffer the consequences. To put that on par with manslaughter, well may your fingers should be pointed at your a$$.
anonymous
31 Oct 09 at 2:22 pm
I do know that the person responsible for causing the accident admitted to watching the crash and leaving the scene. I do know that Mr. Avary’s blood test came back “BELOW” legal limit (check it out) and I do know that Mr. Zini died from blood loss because 911 wasn’t called soon enough. But please do not take my word, investigate yourself or stay in the flock with the rest of the sheeple.
Kim
31 Oct 09 at 4:37 pm
Kim, with all due respect to all the other bad people in the WOrld that need to be punished, Mr Avary was driving close to 100 mph says the prosecuting attorney. AND so what if he was only going 75 freakin miles an hour! He should be going 45!!!!If Avery hadn’t been speeding or drinking Mr. Zini would be alive today. As for the other drug peddlers you speak of.. I hope they all get caught and go to jail too! I didn’t understand your post , its like you are saying ‘hey look over here at the drug peddlers, don’t look at Avary! He wasn’t legally drunk, check out them drug peddlers would ya?’ If it wasn’t Avary who caused the accident, and it was someone elses fault, that person would be in jail. I would actually like to read a more in depth version of what happened. Kim since you seem to know where to read the in depth version “(check it out)” tell us all where we can read the fine details . If it turns out Avary wasn’t speeding and wasn’t drunk and Mr Zini died because someone else caused the accident I would like to know more about it.
BornNaked
31 Oct 09 at 7:45 pm
Maybe Judge Brodie & Kim have parts to play in Avary’s upcoming piece of crap of a movie.
Crown Royal please!
31 Oct 09 at 10:42 pm
I’m not rich and not in films and I’ve never watched Mr. Avary’s films. All court records and transcripts are public accessible. I do know that Mr. Avary was injured in the accident,the first witness on the scene was an ex-DA who had been drinking(had a sober driver)and the arresting officer used a broken breathalyzer.Mr. Avary repeatedly told the authorities from the time of the accident there was a car that stopped in his lane. The witnesses and police said there was NO OTHER VEHICLE involved.
They developed an opinion that he was drunk and the only car.The media posted the “OPINION” before the woman came forward FOUR DAYS later with a statement from her attorney!!!Why would she need that???It was “already out there that he was drunk and guilty and the DA was not going to own up for allowing “false accuse”. The dirty deeds of injustice began. Believe it or not. It’s not just my opinion it’s honest pieces of a larger puzzle than the media distributes to the public. Think about it how often do we get good news or even the whole story?
Kim
1 Nov 09 at 3:58 pm
Usually when you see a car stopped in your lane in the road ahead, you slow down. Same goes for deer and other large objects. Thats what they teach you in driving school. You are not supposed to gun it to get a better look.
Mik
1 Nov 09 at 8:54 pm
kim has no sources
pants on fire
2 Nov 09 at 9:01 am
It was a mystery car, no it was a flat tire, no it was the former DA, no it was a deer, no it was because he was drunk and driving recklessly! Oh yeah we forgot about that.
anonymous
2 Nov 09 at 11:52 am
Mr. Zini was a great friend of Mr. Avary and Mrs. Zini’s statement was to the authorities that Mr. Avary was absolutely not drunk and that if he were she would never have let her husband get in his car. She also stated that she found no fault in Mr. Avary for the unfortunate “accident”.
The real unfortunate part of all this is that she forgives Mr. Avary but his own country and neighbors choose a “Guilty” verdict without all the evidence and would rather form a lynch mob and chase him up the town tower.
Oh and for Mik, everyone else ALWAYS stops or misses other cars and animals right? Always!There has and never will be another car on car collision and all the animals in the world are safe from being hit by a car because you made it clear.
He came across the bridge and around the curve THEN he saw the car, hit his brake, his tire popped, was aimed at the ditch, over corrected and hit the pole with the side of the car.Yeah! That sounds malicious, planned out and completely controllable for anyone who may have attended driving school or not.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 11:54 am
Check out Roger’s Twitter updates from jail:
http://twitter.com/AVARY
Hilarious!
Tarantino
2 Nov 09 at 12:24 pm
Kim,
Is your SAG membership on the line? Why do you keep defending this dirtbag drunk murderer?
JUSTICE
2 Nov 09 at 12:42 pm
Ok, who is right here, the news writer Darryl Kelley of the OVN who says that Mr Avary had just met Mr Zini that very night of the crash through common friends or Kim who says at the beginning of her post that Mr. Zini was a GREAT friend of Mr. Avary? I think the answer to this question should finally put at rest who is full of BS and who is not.
Mik
2 Nov 09 at 1:01 pm
I don’t know what SAG is so I can’t respond to that question.I am not trying to be right either. I am just a woman who absolutely cannot stand before another person, look them in the eyes and say I completely agree that their freedom should be revoked and their lives turned inside out because I received information from the news regarding an accident. Sometimes accidents just happen and YES everyone who has experienced one would agree they would and should have done something different. If I were to climb into a car with someone that I knew was drinking and they had an accident who is to blame? Me that’s who. I have been there. My choice was a bad one and I accept full responsibility for strapping myself in next to a drunk person.Hindsight!I can live forever blaming the driver or I can own my choice that’s all.
A quote from a book I recently read,
“As the most powerful people in history, we have climbed to the top of the world food chain, so to speak.Facing not one single enemy or predator who poses to us any danger of consequence, we’ve found the only prey left; OURSELVES.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 2:10 pm
Kim, you poor misguided fool. Now according to you it was Mr. Zini fault for riding with a man he knew was drunk and was going to drive 100 MPH and just miss another car and have a blow out and then hit a pole. What an idiot Mr. Zini must have been. No wait you are the idiot!
anonymous
2 Nov 09 at 4:19 pm
the end
quit feeding the troll
2 Nov 09 at 5:22 pm
I’m not faulting anyone.We all make our own choices. Where were you when you could have been saving Mr. Zini’s life? Where was the passion that you now show in taking away Mr. Avary’s life when it could have been used for good rather than evil? There is one of two places to be in a situation, part of the solution or part of the problem. Where is your place? How fortunate we are in Ojai to have such a Gallant Dragon slayer as your “anonymous” self to save our lives with uneducated opinions and verbal abuse.
Or I could be completely wrong about you! For all I know you could be serving our community be checking keys, designated driving, neighborhood watch, Help of Ojai, humane society or just lending yourself when needed? Or that assumption could be WAY OFF, you could possibly be selfish, lazy and opinionated.
It’s not my judgement call, but good luck to you if you ever make a mistake that others will or will not understand and support you anyway.Please share with the rest of us what it’s like to be perfect in the mean time.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 5:48 pm
Avary’s next move, file suit against the automaker because the car accelerates to fast, and then move onto the tire company because it was a mfg. flaw that caused it to blow (Firestone maybe), and then the City of Ojai because the telephone pole was to close to the road.
Avary's defense lawyers
2 Nov 09 at 5:53 pm
You know that at no place or time did Mr. Avary attempt to escape responsibility.Notice he did plea guilty and accept his punishment. Not ever did he claim his complete innocence only that he was certain that there was a car in his path and that he wasn’t drunk. There is a local woman who has eluded any part in the incident maybe you smart people seeking justice investigate that now that Mr. Avary is serving his sentence.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 7:10 pm
Kim,
Give it up. Don’t you realize you are hanging yourself with your own rope? Sometimes it is better to just admit you are way off base, have an unsupportable position, and have no idea what you are talking about.
JUSTICE
JUSTICE
2 Nov 09 at 8:00 pm
Kim is just floundering now. She lost me when she started recounting the incident like she knew all the facts which turned out to be dubious at best. Personally I wouldn’t want to see Mr Avary hung from a tree like you seem to think Kim.. I am objecting to the ultra lenient punishment that skirts jail time apparently and lets him go on with his life as usual.
Terry
2 Nov 09 at 9:02 pm
Well I did give too much info in my first comment and it was deleted (by editing) at the risk of exposing people in our community. I can’t present proof, it’s not mine to give, and I cant expose my source because it would compromise the trust that someone has in me as a friend. I can only give my own personal opinion on the matter. I myself have been out drinking and drove myself home numerous times.Never did anything happen but that doesn’t mean I was a better person than someone that did experience the GOD AWFULL. Like I said it’s not my judgement call to decide someone else’s fate when I wasn’t always shinning myself. And believe me I have watched a lot of you others getting ripped and not taking the shuttle home. Just go sit at any restaurant or bar in town and see for yourselves how many do the same exact thing he did, maybe some will be lucky and then maybe not. My point, if you insist on chastising one then that same law applies to all.
And to Terry your right I am floundering because I would rather wake up in the morning with integrity than to merely be right. The truth always rises to the top on it’s own it really doesn’t need my help.
I don’t need anyone to believe me. It just frustrates me to no end that freaks come out of the woods when a person is down but when we really need help it’s a ghost town.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 10:42 pm
Also about the young woman who pulled out in front of him.
She was at her boyfriends house.She fled the scene for who knows why. Saw the article in the paper and told her Mother.Her Mother knows and likes The Avary’s. Hired an attorney and made her come forward. And she tearfully THANKED Mr. Avary for not hitting her daughters car and killing her. She sent her daughter “away” for awhile and when she returned she had a new look, new haircut and new clothes Oh and no more boyfriend. If I give greater details in this blog it will just be deleted again. But with that much tell me who got off easy? I didn’t know it was legal to cause and then leave a fatal crash.
Kim
2 Nov 09 at 11:18 pm
I heard there was another car on the grassy knoll.
Oak View Rocks
3 Nov 09 at 5:11 am
The young woman who allegedly pulled out, she was probably used to a vehicle driving the speed limit on the road she pulled out on, and did not expect a vehicle doing a 100 MPH with a drunk behind the wheel.
Anonymous
3 Nov 09 at 8:52 am
Mrs. Avays was ejected from the car, laying in the road. This woman said she saw the car driving crazy, come to a stop and saw something in the road that she thought was an animal they were trying to miss.From where she puled out to the pole he hit is less than a tenth of a mile. She saw them stop before turning, rounding the curve and crossing the bridge. But the neighbors that heard the crash from their homes said it sounded like a plane crashed. she claims leaving the scene because she didn’t know who it was and why they were driving crazy and it scared her. About 7 or 8 months after, and charges weren’t brought against her she started to talk at parties and (I heard) a few variations of her side that all came down to she really didn’t grasp the severity of the crash at the scene because she was concerned about charges against her for being under under the influence herself. The prosecuting side cared not about the cause but more on the opinion developed prior to the woman coming forward. It was now a matter of saving face. If anyone has been through a court room in ventura you know very well the prosecutor develops an unrelenting fixation on the “kill”. This sociopath mentality does not seek justice, it’s a numbers game and they hate to lose.
Unfortunately for little miss hide behind mommy’s skirt, if one other person knows, it’s no longer a secret.
So who had the more clever lawyer? Talk about getting away with murder.
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 8:59 am
seriously, she is making it all up, stop engaging her
quit feeding the troll
3 Nov 09 at 9:02 am
Kim, put up or shut up! If you have names and proof go to the police. But please no more wild conjecture based on your own opinion.
anonymous
3 Nov 09 at 10:04 am
The prosecutor has one objective, PROSECUTE. The defense has one objective, DEFEND. The rest is up to us, WE THE PEOPLE.
We are the determiners. The JURY. The unbiased until all the facts are examined and a conclusion is reach BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT. But when evidence is withheld that is not possible. Your correct about “money” being an influence, and I’m not certain but a few B movies and co-writing one popular flick doesn’t exactly make one RICH, comfortable maybe. A stepping stone to the possibility of becoming RICH.
Prove what to the police? What they already know, they fudged it up from jump! They know, they don’t want you to know.
“Put up or shut up”? Really now that is rich “ANONYMOUS”?
If I am wrong then BY ALL MEANS please prove me wrong.
But when it is discovered that I didn’t make this up what do you consider a fair punishment for her?
A WEDGIE? Yeah That will teach her, yank her underwear up her butt. That’s about all she has gotten so far.
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 10:49 am
I hate to disappoint all of you, but… Kim is right about this.
There most definitely was another car involved — it was driven by a young woman who had just been visiting with her pot-head boyfriend on Boardman.
Do such mitigating circumstances excuse Avary for having one drink and then speeding? Certainly not… but we shouldn’t dismiss this young woman’s role in the tragedy, either.
Tarantino
3 Nov 09 at 12:23 pm
Wild accusations! If you have the names of this pot head and his drunk girlfriend then give them out. Which you probably won’t because of a slander lawsuit.
anonymous
3 Nov 09 at 12:37 pm
Wow! Appreciate your input Taratino. Not feeling so cornered for standing up for my belief in constitutional rights. I am not defending drunk driving or speeding. I am only presenting the bigger picture to the uninformed for fair consideration.
In regards to Mr. Avary’s defense team failing to expose her as a catalyst to the accident (I think) it was Mr. Avary’s decision. The mother is supposedly affluent and he was more concerned with his own business than to be putting throw her under the bus on his “to do” list. I am to believe that he assumed that because he was doing the right thing so would she. But as we know assumption has the tendency to produce an undesired bi product. Disappointment.
Just for the sake of census go to local restaurants and bars and choose subjects to observe. How many drinks with dinner or alone and who drives themselves home. One an hour is pushing it. I am to understand Mr. Avary had one or two in a five hour period with food.
It is fair to question whether or not the accident would have even happened if the car was not in his lane and if Mr. Zini would still be alive if she would have called 911 instead of fleeing.
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 1:37 pm
“Anonymous” your a fine one to be asking for a NAME. Do you also wear a white pointy hood? The authorities already know who she is. Why is it so important to you? Are you actually capable of taking legal action against her yourself if giving her name or is it just for the sake of satisfying your personal hunger for a Crucifixion?
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 2:07 pm
Kim, no one uses their real name. It is all pseudonyms so you can call yourself Kim or Mik or Jim or Tarantino or anonymous or anything you want. It is all make believe and each person’s statements have no more or less veracity to them. The blogs are a game. So go ahead and say you have evidence of a cover up in the investigation that is your idea, but it does not make it a fact.
anonymous
3 Nov 09 at 2:44 pm
That’s where your so wrong. Communication or the lack of is clearly not a GAME when someone’s life and freedom are at stake. I see which team your on, hopefully your never considered for jury duty. Kim is my REAL name, my mother gave it to me. I didn’t realize I should be secretive or ashamed for exercising my right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly with my neighbors. And just because you do not believe doesn’t make it fiction either.
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 3:27 pm
That is comical. Are you suggesting schizophrenia? I create a scenario and the argue with myself? (giggle, giggle) CRACKHEAD!!
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 3:48 pm
seriously, (deleted) y’all took the bait big time. dude had his day in court – she wasn’t around and now all of a sudden she is. case closed.
pants on fire
3 Nov 09 at 4:15 pm
No I’ve always been here ask around I have been discussing it face to face that’s how I came to find out she was giving herself up to friends later. Also I was reading other blogs of people that are not residents of Ojai and they seemed a lot more compassionate. I also contributed to his case. Did you not know that it was a request? I think close to 200 Ojai residents offered their compliance. That’s where I’ve been! Where were you?
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 4:33 pm
Kim,
You will be hung for treason if you do not reveal your source!
JUSTICE
3 Nov 09 at 4:46 pm
I’m confused there’s so many drunk drivers in Ojai, bus driver, Avary, unknown girl..
TAXI !!!!!!!!
3 Nov 09 at 4:47 pm
FYI, a troll is another name for someone who hurls virtual bombs on blogs then enjoys the aftermath
troll alert
3 Nov 09 at 6:03 pm
Justice are you sleeping with anonymous? Treason? Whose trust am I betraying? Or how am I trying to overthrow the government?
I’m over it. I have said all that I am going to say. Just because you read it doesn’t mean you have to believe it. I merely shared the info that I received what you do with it is up to you.
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 7:24 pm
Well Kim, I would give you points for trying to round out the picture of what went on that night and it is possible that if there was another vehicle in the road and that person fled the scene that could be a reason for Mr. Avary getting a lesser sentence. I used to be confounded as to why he got that slap on the wrist, this helps clarify some of it. If there was another vehicle that supposedly made the accident more likely then why doesn’t the OVN write about it?
Mik
3 Nov 09 at 7:48 pm
Kim,
Your insubordination of Justice is treason in and of itself.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Truth Coalition
John Doe
3 Nov 09 at 10:02 pm
You know MIK I do not know. I think it has to do with protecting the mother who is a well to do member of the Ojai community. As I understand it she was or still is a pothead slacker.(the young woman, not the mother). I heard from acquaintances that she was playing the victim card by saying “that drunk freak who wrote pulp fiction almost killed me too”. That way her guilty conscience was appeased by admitting to have been there but by crying victim she escaped responsibility.
I don’t know what happened, i didn’t hear anything for awhile and then I heard of the sentencing. I was curious as well. That’s probably why I felt compelled to network here. Somebody else may know???
Kim
3 Nov 09 at 10:17 pm
Kim is right about all of it. To wit:
Many things are discussed behind closed doors in a judge’s chambers… deals are made and life goes on.
End. Of. Story.
Tarantino
4 Nov 09 at 12:12 am
There was also a dog in the road that night that caused Avary to swerve. And Avary was not driving drunk, just ask him. And Kim has a photo of the car turning left off Boardman.
anonymous
4 Nov 09 at 9:20 am
“I have said all that I am going to say.”
she hasn’t said anything, though! no names, no facts, just a bunch of rumors and lies that she decided to vomit onto the Internet AFTER the trial! buh. bye.
rumor control
4 Nov 09 at 9:31 am
Quote: “Before you insult someone walk a mile in their shoes, that way when you do insult them your a mile away and you have their shoes.”
What would you or could you possibly do with the proof? Satisfy your “need to know”? Seek to apply justice? Or just add her to the hateful comments conversations?
Your very ungrateful and lazy! You have way more information than before and you insist on more. Will it change how you feel in regards to the case? Probably not. It’s a much better life for everyone to be open to wonder than to be closed by belief. The intelligent accepted the possibility of a bigger picture due to the confusion of the crime v/s the sentence.Do the rest yourself or forget about it. The stupid comments remind me of a riddle:
Q: What do you call a dog with no legs?
A: You can call it anything you want, it ain’t comin!
Kim
4 Nov 09 at 2:10 pm
In case you didn’t get that, your the dog!
Kim
4 Nov 09 at 2:13 pm
Kim is an idiot.
John Doe
4 Nov 09 at 4:09 pm
It wouldn’t matter if I produced any names or proof some of your heads have already been impregnated by “THEY SAY”. Anything new is not penetrable due to the depth of your heads up “THEY’S” butts. There is only feet hanging out. Are you the arresting officer Lieutenant?
Kim
4 Nov 09 at 5:49 pm
K. Your right I am acting like an idiot now! Being ugly is contagious. I apologize for my sarcasm and digs. Signing out now it’s making me too cranky.
Kim
4 Nov 09 at 7:21 pm
In my years of blogging on this site, I have never come across as big an idiot as Kim.
John Doe
4 Nov 09 at 10:52 pm
Actually Kim is kinda funny, “they’s butts” ??? LOL Mr. Doe, you need to step up to the plate or get off the matt, “Kim is an idiot” , well, you sound defeated if you ask me.
Mik
5 Nov 09 at 7:47 am
HOwever Kim, I still don’t understand why you state that Mr Avary was a GREAT friend of Mr Zini, like you are all buddies when in fact they had only met that night. That undermines your cred a bit. I also want to say that there are a handfull of times in my life when I was driving at night when something unexpected showed up in the middle of the road. Once it was a deer and another time it was a broken down car under a bridge on a curve in my lane on the freeway and another time was a motorcycle stopped on a blind curve trying to make a left turn facing oncoming traffic. LIke most safe drivers I keep my eyes on the road ahead and don’t go at dangerous speeds at all times. As a result I have avoided the sad result of smashing into things. What kind of person drives with the attitude that he and only he owns the road at midnight so he can drive as fast and carelessly as he wants? No matter what the circumstances were, if he had been driving the speed limit with his eyes glued to the road, Mr Zini would still be alive today.
Mik
5 Nov 09 at 8:01 am
Mik,
What kind of person drives like they own the road? The kind of rich jerks from L.A. that come to Ojai to buy up the East End so they have alittle haven from L.A. Too bad they don’t leave their L.A. mentality in L.A. Newsflash: Practicing yoga on the weekend does not make up for your monday through friday L.A. life.
You are absoulutely right. The cause here was a speeding driver under the influence, and because of those two factors, he was unable to avoid any perceived obstacles.
Kim,
It’s sad how your obsession for tinseltown spews out of your unsubstantiated rants. Get over Hollywood. They’re really not that great. If you have something to offer, post it. Otherwise, stay home and watch reruns of TMZ.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Truth Coalition
John Doe
5 Nov 09 at 10:27 am
I overshot with the insert of the word “great”, but obviously they were friends and, I completely agree with you about bad drivers I experience them often day or night. But there were a lot of mistakes made from the beginning regarding the accident, and personally I find it hard to understand how he was driving OVER 100mph across the bridge, around the curve missed a car and only hit the pole at 25 to 35 mph in less than a tenth of a mile stretch?
I used to swerve for squirrels and such until my husband flipped out and said NEVER SWERVE FOR ANYTHING that’s how you crash. So because I was responsible for my passengers (my kids, their friends, pets) I learned not to swerve. I hit plenty of crap dropped from trucks, someones bumper in the road, a bird, a skunk and a dead cat. Didn’t want to but want to crash less. And at night when the roads are pretty empty I have gone faster because I could.
I know the spot where they crashed well I have been on a bike in the daylight and almost hit by cars. Not long after the accident the city started construction on the bridge. But you can still Google Earth it.
Also I am to understand he had difficulty from the beginning because of his films, like i said i haven’t seen them but i know they’re not G rated. A very aggressive aspiring assistant DA without reading the case or meeting him swore to imprison him for being “EVIL”.
One reason i sound personally involved is that I was there once! No prior criminal record, never even got a ticket and I was falsely charged with a felony crime, (Not in a car)and at first I thought it was an open and shut case, just an inconvenience to me until I had to appear in court. The prosecution was set on “guilty” without evidence and that was rule. Any proof of innocence was objected, “I object, I object, I object”. That scared me to death. I then understood how ALL those people claiming they “didn’t do it” could be in that unbelievable position. WOW. I only had a public defender and it seemed like he wasn’t allowed to say anything for my defence. Thankfully the judge saw no proof and there was nothing to dig up on me. Dismissed. I did not feel like an American then. It was so scary and so disappointing. It contradicted everything I was taught and “knew” about our Judicial system. It was not trying an American for a crime it was a game of win or lose to the prosecutor and i was merely the pig skin.
Kim
5 Nov 09 at 11:03 am
Kim,
So what is it? You have evidence exculpating Avary or you empathize with him because you are both criminals?
John Doe
5 Nov 09 at 11:28 am
Yeah that’s it Mr. Doe. You soooooooooooo smart. Whats wrong with your Mother? She didn’t teach you manners? If you don’t have something nice to say, SHUT UP.
Go to the courthouse and view the transcripts yourself. Aren’t you in law enforcement? You have connections.
Kim
5 Nov 09 at 11:44 am
Mik appreciate your open mind, but it’s not my job to deliver the news to the public. I’ve given all that I can. A better question that should be directed to the ones that actually get paid for distributing information would be , why is there so much missing? Or if they leave things out where can you find the rest for yourselves.
Kim
5 Nov 09 at 12:52 pm
Kim,
What crime were you charged with and were you convicted?
While I do have connections, no, I am not in law enforcement. A bit of my background: Top secret trilateral commission operations.
Thank you for showing me the sympathy you have shown Avary. I was an orphan discovered near a battle site off the Faulkland Islands. I had suffered severe memory loss, hence the name, John Doe. Unfortunately, I did not have a mother around, but prefer that to a felon.
Are you now alleging your source for all of your opinions on this thread are court transcripts?
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
Orphan
Kim
5 Nov 09 at 1:36 pm
Well haven’t you done well for yourself. Pat yourself on the back for me.GOD BLESS AMERICA!
A #1: No convictions.
A #2: My source of info was obtained through a friend I refuse to divulge just as I won’t participate in a witch hunt for the young woman. But the transcripts are available for public viewing the only thing is I have no idea how to find pieces of evidence that have been concealed. Ask your connections.
I know many people, some that have been fortunate to never have had an unpleasant legal experience and some that are felons, done their time and now live among us again. You seriously couldn’t swing a dead cat in this valley without hitting one. A lot of good people have made a mistake and continue to live on. We have some pretty good people in our community that have done time in prison or at least jail that severed their time and moved forward.
And why are you singing in as KIM rather than John Doe? Are you the one putting that weirdo stuff in there from me???Jackass!!!
Kim
5 Nov 09 at 2:17 pm
Kim,
I don’t know what you are talking about. Blame the administrator.
Ret. Lieut. John Doe
John Doe
5 Nov 09 at 4:17 pm
Uh oh, we have another case of John Doe/James Hatch/Anon5 breaking into mulitiple identities what is going on here? By the way , Kim (if you really are Kim not JD) night time is the worst time to speed since all the larger animals come out at night, deer , mtn lion, bob cats and bears. Those are the animals that rule the night, not people!!
anonymous
7 Nov 09 at 8:23 am
Doe is slippin,
impersonate much there john????
Falkland island????
No memory????
No mother????
“Top secret trilateral commission operations.”
Not very top secret now is it john??
Still impersonating an officer???
It is illegal now to drive and talk on a cell phone right??
I see every other car’s driver(not counting blue tooth/earpiece) on a cell phone cops included..
Arguably talking on a cell phone while driving even with an earpiece is similar to drunk driving, IE sudden swerving, slow reaction time etc..
Talking on a cell phone w/ or w/o earpiece could be = to drunk driving.
“California Highway Patrol statistics show that cell-phone use is the top cause of accidents triggered by distracted drivers going all the way back to 2001.”
http://www.drivinglaws.org/sb1613.php
Every one “breaks the law” at some point in their life, I am sure its not because crime pays.
Courts, police, attorneys, district attorneys, jails, prisons, prison/jail guards, auto industry etc.
One could say our economy was at one time built on crime..
One could go further and say the only economy that flourished during a recession/depression is crime…
Just because you don’t have a conviction doesn’t mean you don’t break the law, it only means you have not been caught.Yet..
Happy high horse ridden, witch hunting, stone throwing adventures folks…
??.???.????
7 Nov 09 at 7:45 pm
1 year on work furlough for manslaughter…..wow it must be nice to have so much money that you can buy your freedom. I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a fact that in this capitalistic country you better have lots of money to pay a private lawyer or else you’re stuck with the public defender. All the public defender does is try to avoid trial by getting the accused to agree to plead guilty and accept whatever the district attorney’s office wants to offer. I don’t believe the public defender really is there to defend their clients because frankly they don’t have the time it takes to prepare for a good defense as their already overburdened with way too many cases. In this case there was a rich, hollywood person involved that had the money to keep himself out of prison. If he hadn’t of paid the huge multimillion settlement to the deceased man’s family I don’t think the judge would of agreed to let him off with 1 year. I’m also sick of hearing how the hollywood elite should be allowed to return to work as if the whole industry would fall apart without their presence. There are plenty of other people just waiting to take over that can fill this man’s shoes while he serves his sentence. He was given preferential treatment that the average man would never get………..the court system is a farce.
Kathy
20 Nov 09 at 1:24 am
Justice is for sell. It pays to be rich in this country. Ojai would be better off if the Hollywood crowd would just leave. They do not make a positive contribution (deleted).
anonymous
20 Nov 09 at 11:00 am
They should be tarred and feathered.
The Vigilante
20 Nov 09 at 3:30 pm
He is talented and rich. He shouldn’t be locked up with the common morons. Rich people earn better justice. And earn each penny. Bwahh haaa!!
New Yorker
20 Nov 09 at 6:17 pm
It’s great owning a second home in Ojai and reading comments by insecure, poor morons. Get a job!
New Yorker
20 Nov 09 at 6:19 pm
Hollywood owns Ojai. Without second homers Ojai would be Oxnard with trees.
Hollywood
22 Nov 09 at 6:57 pm
Ret. Lieut. John Doe owns Ojai. Without him, Ojai would be a cesspool.
new yorker
24 Nov 09 at 3:23 pm
‘Pulp Fiction’ writer taken off jail furlough
Sat Nov 28, 6:47 am ET
VENTURA, Calif. – “Pulp Fiction” co-screenwriter Roger Avary has been removed from a prison work furlough program and locked up, authorities say.
Avary was sentenced in September to a year in jail and five years probation for causing a drunken driving car crash that killed a passenger and injured Avary’s wife. News reports say he has been serving his time in a work furlough program.
But on Friday Ventura County sheriff’s spokesman Capt. Ross Bonfiglio said the 44-year-old Avary had been locked up in the county jail.
The Los Angeles Times and the Ventura County Star reported that he was removed from the furlough program and jailed after allegedly Twittering about his experiences since being sentenced.
But Bonfiglio told The Associated Press that he was jailed over security issues and Twittering wasn’t a key factor. Avary attorney Mark Werskman denied Twittering caused his incarceration.
Avary and Quentin Tarantino share the 1995 Academy Award for writing “Pulp Fiction.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091128/ap_en_ot/us_pulp_fiction_writer
Truth please
28 Nov 09 at 9:46 pm