An Oklahoma City man is charged with manslaughter after crashing into two motorcycles in Nicoma Park, and Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel says theman "shouldn�t have been on the street and shouldn�t have been behind the wheel of a car."
Police suspect Mario Donsheau Cherry, 42, was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he sped past a Nicoma Park police cruiser. When theofficer attempted to pull over the speeding driver, Cherry allegedly fled, striking a vehicle as he drove away at a "high rate of speed."
Instead of stopping at the scene of the first collision, the driver continued west, striking and possibly running over two motorcycles. The collisionwith the motorcycles injured the driver and passenger of one motorcycle and killed their daughter, who was driving the second motorcycle.
The accident caused Cherry to roll his vehicle. Reports say there was an altercation between police and the suspect as they tried to apprehend him. Theywere able to subdue him and took him into custody. He was treated at a local hospital before being booked into the Oklahoma County Jail on complaintsof first degree manslaughter, assault and battery on a police officer, driving under suspension, and leaving the scene of an accident. He is also heldon an unrelated robbery charge in a separate pending case.
Police say he may face additional charges when the toxicology reports come back.
Sheriff Whetsel's remarks were prompted by Cherry's extensive criminal record, showing 24 arrests in 24 years. Cherry has multiple prior convictions datingback to 1990 and he was just released from prison in February 2015. His convictions include drug possession, maintaining a vehicle where a CDS is kept,possession of a firearm in the conviction of a felony, possession of a firearm after prior felony conviction, bail jumping, possession of a CDS inthe presence of a child, forgery, possession of PCP with intent to distribute, and possession of a CDS within 1000 feet of a school, park, or child.
In 2000, Cherry was given sentences totaling 55 years for five felony convictions; in 2007, he was given an additional 15 years for a drug conviction.A local news report calls it a "mystery" that the man given 70 years in prison between 2000 and 2007 would be free in 2015; however, the "mystery"is quickly solved when one looks at court records to see that most of the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Factoring in parole, it wouldnot be unusual for the person to be released long before the full "70 years" was served.
Cherry remains in the Oklahoma County jail. As of this writing, the District Attorney's Office has not yet filed formal charges in the case.
