The Tulane
University student charged with the hit-and-run death
of a campus police officer in January 1996 pleaded
guilty to negligent homicide Monday, though the
victim's widow and a fellow officer have asked that he
be spared a prison term when he is sentenced in
September.
"I know he is a young man with his whole life before
him, but I don't think because of one rash act, he
should be punished such that his future is ruined, "
Shirley Mast wrote to Judge Frank Marullo. "I would
ask Your Honor to be lenient when considering
punishment for this young man and not incarcerate
him."
Josh Gimelstob, 21, faces up to 15 years in prison and
$20, 000 in fines in the death of Sgt. Gilbert Mast.
In addition to pleading guilty as charged to negligent
homicide, Gimelstob entered pleas to hit-and-run and
obstruction of justice under a legal provision that
allowed him to not admit guilt.
Each conviction carries a prison term of up to five
years. Sentencing will be Sept. 17.
Defense attorneys indicated they will put Gimelstob's
family members from New Jersey on the stand, along
with his friends from Tulane.
On Monday, Gimelstob appeared in court and quietly
answered, "Yes, Your Honor, " when Marullo questioned
him about whether he understood his rights.
"I am deeply sorry for everything I have done and all
the pain I have caused, " Gimelstob said, wiping away
tears.
He is charged with hitting Mast, 42, on McAlister
Drive in the early morning hours of Jan. 20, 1996, as
the officer was standing in the street trying to wave
his Jeep Cherokee over for speeding.
Gimelstob fled the scene but surrendered to
authorities three days later.
Prosecutors later charged him with obstruction for
taking his Jeep to a repair shop before turning it
over to police.
With the plea, the focus shifts to Marullo, who will
sentence Gimelstob after an investigation into his
background and character. Marullo told Gimelstob that
deciding sentences for murderers, rapists and armed
robbers often is easier. But, he added, "the law is
the law."
"Human nature is frail and sometimes these things
happen unintentionally, " the judge said.
Defense attorneys Jerome Winsberg and Jeffrey Smith
called the accident tragic but distinguished it from
intentional crimes or vehicle deaths in which alcohol
is involved.
Prosecutors did not charge Gimelstob with drunken
driving or vehicular homicide, a crime that involves
alcohol or drugs and carries a minimum one-year jail
term.
"This is a tragedy for all concerned, " Winsberg said.
"I don't think the judge has made up his mind" about
the sentence.
Mast's estranged wife, Shirley Mast, asked for
leniency for Gimelstob because she believes it is what
the officer would have wanted, said her attorney,
Donald Klein. A fellow officer also asked the judge to
show mercy.
"Knowing Gilbert Mast, were it possible, he would ask
the court not to incarcerate this young man because of
alternate punishments that are available and which
would serve the same purpose, " wrote Sgt. Joseph
Liquor, a close friend of Mast's.
Both letters were dated April 8.
In addition to the requests for leniency, Marullo also
has heard from the woman with whom Mast was living
when he was killed. Miriam Youngerman Miller has asked
to address the court at the sentencing hearing, court
records show.
Two civil lawsuits were filed against Gimelstob on
behalf of Shirley Mast and a daughter of Gilbert Mast
from another marriage. Shirley Mast's lawsuit has been
settled, Klein said, but the status of the second
claim was unclear Monday.
Klein said Shirley Mast's lawsuit was settled several
weeks after she wrote her letter. "She did this
voluntarily, " he said, adding the letter had nothing
to do with the lawsuit.
With the criminal charges settled, Tulane University
now will proceed with charges against Gimelstob for
alleged violations of the Code of Student Conduct.
"Tulane University did not pursue any charges against
Mr. Gimelstob until all legal matters were completed
in order to not jeopardize his right to a fair trial,
" school officials said in a statement released
Monday. "He will appear before the Joint Hearing
Board, which is Tulane's disciplinary board made up of
both faculty and students."
Gimelstob's attorneys said he has matured since the
accident and is truly sorry for what happened. He has
been volunteering with the city's recreational youth
tennis program and taking summer school classes at
Tulane, they said. A tennis star and one-time business
major, Gimelstob is now interested in psychology and
working with children and sports, Smith said.
"He is trying to turn his life around, " Smith said.
