Man convicted of running down guy during 2004 Super Bowl riot has part of sentence reversed

The Massachusetts Appeals Court today overturned the OUI conviction of a man who plowed into five revelers during chaotic Fenway celebrations following the 2004 Super Bowl, but said he is still guilty of killing one man and seriously injuring two others with his SUV. And that means he won't see any reduction in his prison sentence, because he was only given probation for the OUI convictions.

As described in the ruling, after watching the Super Bowl himself with some relatives and friends in Canton - and after having consumed four to six beers - Stanley Filoma decided to drive to Symphony Road in the Fenway to give an ex-girlfriend her keys back.

But finding himself on Symphony surrounded by crazed revelers who had already overturned several cars, Filoma shifted his SUV into reverse and drove back down at a high rate of speed until he found his path blocked by an overturned car. Riot police ran toward him and tried to get him out of the car, but instead, he shifted into drive and took off, reaching speeds of 30-60 m.p.h. - until he plowed into a group of five people, killing one, and giving head injuries to two others.

About 5 1/2 hours later, after failing field sobriety tests, he took a breath test and blew a .09.

However, the court ruled an expert witness called by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office failed to explain to the jury "the fundamental connection between the amounts of blood alcohol content and the punishable condition of impairment: the diminished capacity to operate a motor vehicle safely." By itself, the court said, that would not have been enough to nullify the verdict, if prosecutors had asked the judge to instruct the jury to also consider other evidence, such as Filoma's unsteady gate and appearance at his arrest. But they didn't, and because the case rested on the breath-test results, the verdict was incorrect, the court ruled.

Filoma failed to convince the appeals court to overturn his convictions on involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon (his SUV). The justices said even without the OUI problem, prosecutors showed his wanton and reckless behavior led to the death and injuries, and that he should count his blessings prosecutors made the mistake they did:

The Commonwealth did not realize that the evidence of the .09 breathalyzer result (admitted without objection) constituted a prima facie case of impaired operation. Its failure to request a conforming instruction to that effect was fortuitous for the defendant. The defendant's resulting argument attempts to convert the fortuitous avoidance of the alcohol-related charges to the categorical evasion of all charges. The quantity and quality of evidence of the independent charges and the accuracy of the instructions upon them preclude that result. No error, preserved or unpreserved, undermines the convictions upon the nonalcohol-related offenses.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, Filoma was sentenced to a total of six to eight years in prison for the manslaughter and assault and battery conviction, and three years probation on the OUI conviction.

• Complete ruling