A man wanted by authorities for six years in connection with a deadly crash was arrested on Oct. 6.
Charged with DUI manslaughter, two counts of DUI with property damage and one count of DUI with personal injury, Joseph F. Deveau was booked into the Marion County Jail shortly before 4 p.m., records show.
From the jail, Deveau, 74, appeared in front of County Judge Robert Landt via Zoom for his first appearance hearing on Oct. 7. The defendant was handcuffed and using a hearing device. The judge appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent him.
Assistant State Attorney Meredith Poisson asked the judge to hold Deveau on pre-trial detention based on the nature of the crime. The judge agreed. Locally, Deveau does not have a criminal record.
The bail issue will be revisited at a future hearing.
Crash
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the deadly crash occurred the night of Sept. 28, 2018, on County Road 25 near Southeast 104th Terrace in Belleview.
FHP said Deveau, who was driving an older Chevy Trailblazer, was traveling east on CR 25 approaching 104th Terrace. Meanwhile, a 2018 Nissan Sentra was traveling north on 104th Terrace and making a right turn onto CR 25.
From their investigation, troopers said the Nissan failed to come to a complete stop at the stop sign before turning onto CR 25. The Chevy did not slow down and struck the back of the Nissan, FHP said.
Everyone involved in the crash was transported to a local hospital for treatment. Troopers said Frank Donald Bosier, the Nissan driver, died in mid-October from his injuries. Bosier was 72. His passengers, Kaylha Donaldson and Chanz Marks, were injured in the crash.
Troopers said Deveau appeared to be impaired at the hospital. Traffic Homicide Investigator Shane Crawford investigated the case.
Investigation
Crawford and his team conducted their investigation into the crash and the vehicles. According to FHP, the investigation revealed Deveau's blood-alcohol content was 0.189. The state's legal limit is 0.08.
Deveau's vehicle data indicates he was driving between 66 mph and 78 mph in a posted 55 mph speed zone. Troopers' calculations showed the Chevy could've stopped before hitting the Nissan, according to a report.
A trooper who was at the hospital not long after the crash detected a strong odor of alcohol from Deveau's breath. The trooper also said the defendant's speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot, glassy and watery.
The trooper interviewed Deveau and he said he was using his phone's GPS to get home. He said he was the only person in the vehicle and had been at a restaurant before the crash, according to the report.
Records
Records show it appears no one was able to contact Deveau after the crash.
Documents show several notices, including a notice of civil traffic arraignment, were mailed to Deveau in 2020 using an Ocklawaha address, but they were returned. Officials could not find any other address on file for Deveau, according to court documents.
A warrant was issued for Deveau's arrest in 2020, and notices were sent to him. However, they went unanswered.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Man arrested 6 years after DUI manslaughter warrant issued | Exclusive
