By Lee Trawick Riverbend News
On Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, a 911 call was made to the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office concerning a single-vehicle accident on a dirt road on Northwest Banta Acres Road ,at approximately 1:30 a.m. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a single vehicle, a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, with considerable damage to its right front, consistent with a collision with a tree. Upon further inspection of the vehicle, they saw a single occupant on the vehicle's passenger side. The passenger door was found to be bowed outward, consistent with the occupant colliding with the door, concluding from the evidence the single occupant was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the accident. The passenger was later determined to be Jessica Rhodes Broughton, of Lafayette County. Jessica was pronounced deceased at the scene. The investigating officers noticed a pair of blood-stained flip flops in the driver's side floorboard, under the brake pedal. Further evidence also found blood on the driver's side door and driver's side airbag, along with barefoot tracks outside of the truck, showing the driver exited the vehicle.
The investigation also showed the presence of alcohol in the vehicle. It was determined the owner and driver of the vehicle was Joey Allen Broughton, 42-years-old, of Lafayette County. When confronted by Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) Sergeant David Roberts and Lafayette Sheriff Brian Lamb, Joey admitted to driving the vehicle and fully cooperated with law enforcement. When Sheriff Lamb and FHP officer Roberts approached Joey, he was wearing a blood-stained shirt. Joey then complied with the request to turn over the shirt he was wearing to the officers for evidence. At 4:29 a.m., Joey agreed to give a blood sample to the paramedics on the scene.
Upon reviewing evidence at the accident scene, the State felt it had enough evidence to arrest and charge Joey with three counts: count one, driving under the influence (DUI) manslaughter; count two, vehicular homicide and count three, leaving the scene of an accident - personal injury or death. Accordingly, Joey turned himself into the Lafayette County Sheriff's Office on May 24, 2018.
The State of Florida versus Joey Allen Broughton trail began on Monday, Aug. 23 and lasted two days, with various witnesses testimonies from both the State and for the defense.
On Thursday, Aug. 26, Broughton was found not guilty on the count of DUI manslaughter and not guilty on the count of leaving the scene of a crash-personal injury or death. However, he was found guilty on the count of vehicular homicide.
A press release from the State of Florida states, "On Friday, Sept. 17, the Circuit Court of Lafayette County convened for the sentencing of Joey Allen Broughton, who was previously found guilty of vehicular homicide in the death of his wife and victim, Jessica Broughton. The jury also found the defendant not guilty of the two other charges of DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash. Acting Circuit Judge Darren K. Jackson presided. The State, defense and the court recapped the testimony that was heard by the jury. The State initially argued that the Criminal Punishment Code mandated that the court impose a minimum of 111 months in the Department of Corrections. The defense presented testimony and argued that the court should downward depart and order something less than 111 months. After testimony from various defense witnesses and the defendant, the State Attorney John Durrett affirmatively agreed that the requirements of Florida Statue 921.006(2) had been met and that a downward departure was appropriate; however, they believed that a period of incarceration was still appropriate. Accordingly, the court sentenced the defendant to 36 months in the Department of Corrections to be followed by five years' probation."