Daytona Beach, FL – The Ormond Beach woman facing drug and manslaughter charges in the US 1 accident that killed a skateboarder in South Daytona over a year ago takes a plea deal.
Jody Ann Arcuri entered no contest to numerous charges and now faces up to 15 years in prison for the February 2014 accident that killed 22-year-old Stephen M. Wilson of New Smyrna Beach.
Arcuri entered her plea to charges of manslaughter while driving under the influence, 6 counts of drug possession and 1 count of drug paraphernalia possession in front of 7th Circuit Judge Frank Marriott during a court hearing on Wednesday.
Arcuri was sentenced by Marriott to time served on the drug counts and will be sentenced on the DUI manslaughter charge at a later date that’s yet to be set.
The 33-year-old woman has been in Volusia County Jail since last September when she tested positive for alcohol, something that was a violation of her pre-trial release orders.
Arcuri was free on bond at the time while awaiting trial for the accident that killed Wilson as he rode a skateboard on the northbound side of US 1, across the street from Warner Christian Academy.
Wilson died instantly after smashing into the windshield of a black Saturn hatchback driven by Arcuri and landing on some bushes in front of the empty building on 1741 South Ridgewood Avenue.
Northbound US 1 was tied up for over 2 hours on the afternoon of February 3rd as the South Daytona Police Department processed the crime scene.
Investigators say toxicology tests done afterward showed Arcuri had a blood alcohol level of .092, which is over the legal limit. She also tested positive for cocaine, benzoylecgonine, methamphetamine and nordiazepam.
Investigators say they found a host of drugs while searching the Saturn Arcuri was driving, including a variety of pills, small amounts of powder cocaine, marijuana, synthetic marijuana and 4 glass smoking pipes that tested positive for cocaine.
Arcuri reportedly told detectives she “blacked out” when the accident happened, but a witness informed them that they think they saw her on the phone texting when she struck Wilson. Arcuri is not facing any specific charges for that, however.
It was soon after she was re-arrested in September that Arcuri’s husband set up a GoFundMe page to pay for her legal fees. That page is no longer active.
Jody Ann Arcuri (mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
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