By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The Pe Ell man who drove his pickup truck into a house shortly after New Year’s Eve injuring a couple who were in their bed will spend eight months in the Lewis County Jail after a plea agreement was finalized yesterday.
Brian T. Zock apologized to 73-year-old Normand Moreau before Zock was sentenced yesterday in Lewis County Superior Court.
“It was a horrible thing,” Zock said. “It should have never happened, I know better.”
Zock admitted to driving drunk.
Th 26-year-old was initially charged with vehicular assault, but attorneys worked out a deal on lesser charges that came with a long list of penalties.
Judge Richard Brosey called the acts irresponsible and atrocious.
Zock’s Ford pickup broke through a wall at the Moreau’s house on North Third Street in Pe Ell at about 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Firefighters found Mary Moreau, 71, knocked out of the bed and onto the floor of the bathroom. Normand Moreau was still on the mattress but pushed up against the wall in a room that was described as looking like a bomb went off in it.
Normand Moreau yesterday told Zock he accepted his apology, but said his wife’s injuries mean she might need surgery and he may lose a kidney.
The couple has more than $70,000 in medical bills and might have to file for bankruptcy, Normand Moreau said.
“I don’t sleep at night, until 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock in the morning,” he said. “We fear for our lives.”
Centralia attorney J.P. Enbody, who represented Zock, told the judge his client realizes he and alcohol don’t mix.
“I think he’s committed to making sure this doesn’t happen again,” Enbody said.
Zock pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and driving under the influence.
Besides the jail time, monetary penalties and restitution, Zock will lose his license for two years, be allowed to drive only with an ignition interlock devise after that and be required to undergo alcohol treatment.
A portion of the sentence was suspended for five years.
Brosey prohibited Zock from consuming alcohol or even going inside a bar or tavern for five years.
Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher indicated the agreed upon deal was useful as leverage to motivate Zock to avoid drinking and driving.
“He’s got 275 days (in jail) hanging over his head for five years,” Meagher said. “We’ve got him under our thumb for five years.”
It’s Zock’s second DUI conviction and his second felony incident involving alcohol.
He made a so-called Alford plea to first-degree animal cruelty after a July 2006 incident in which he – with two other young men – allegedly got drunk and shot up several cows around Pe Ell and then partially butchered some of them.
Zock’s statement at sentencing in that case noted he had very little memory due to alcohol consumption causing a blackout.
He was taken into custody when the hearing ended yesterday.
Zock’s wife and other family members were present in the Chehalis courtroom.
“He’s had problems,” his father Mike Zock said. “He was doing good … This will sure cure that.”
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Read “Vehicle crashes into Pe Ell bedroom overnight; two injured” from Saturday Jan. 1, 2011, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter