A former Gilchrist County Clerk of the Courts, Jackie Barron, was on the opposite side of the legal system this week. State troopers say Barron hit and killed motorcyclist Robert Carrier with his truck in September of last year. The judge passed judgment on Barron on Tuesday, but friends of the late motorcyclist argue it wasn't enough.
One of Robert Carrier's close friends is calling the defendant's sentence a slap on the wrist, the good ole' boy system. The driver, Jackie Barron, was clerk of Gilchrist County Courts for sixteen years, from 1980 to 1996. Now that he is free after hitting and killing Carrier, the victim's best friend is questioning whether Barron's status had something to do with his sentence.
Robert Carrier, 59, was traveling down state road 26 on his motorcycle, when Florida Highway Patrol Troopers say Jackie Barron made an illegal U-turn. It was that U-turn that killed Biker Bob. Barron's sentence: pay a fine of 1,143 dollars, thirty hours of community service, and a suspended license for six months.
Lt. Pat Riordan of the Florida Highway Patrol says that because Barron's offense was ruled a civil violation, it's not unusual that Barron only face a fine. But because Biker Bob was killed, he was fined over a thousand dollars, rather than the usual 150.