CLEARWATER – A judge sentenced Nick Bollea to five years probation and eight months in county jail after the 17-year-old pleaded no contest this afternoon to reckless driving.
His attorneys had asked Circuit Judge Philip J. Federico to spare the 17-year-old a state prison sentence.
“Something has to be done to show this is not acceptable,” the judge said, in imposing the jail sentence.
The judge also ordered Bollea to serve 500 hours of community service, “working in some positive framework,” but not speaking engagements. Federico also revoked his driver’s license for three years.
He is not allowed to drink alcohol during his probation, and also to undergo an alcohol evaluation and treatment. He also must attend DUI and advanced driving school within a year.
Federico withheld adjudication of guilt after hearing pleas from the defendant and his family not to label him a felon. The family of his victim urged a finding of guilt.
He could have faced a sentence ranging from probation to five years in prison, but the judge agreed to cap the sentence at a year in jail, followed by up to five years probation, as part of the plea negotiations in court.
Bollea, the 17-year-old son of former wrestler Hulk Hogan, entered a not-guilty plea after being charged in November in the Aug. 26 crash that critically injured his passenger, John Graziano, now 23.
Bollea apologized for the accident, saying he prayed for Graziano every day. “I love John to death,” he said. “He is like my older brother and my best friend.”
He said he’s changed since the crash, and has raised $60,000 for a charity dedicated to research into brain trauma and to easing Graziano’s medical costs. He said he’s also tried to bring attention to safe driving and the importance of wearing seatbelts.
Dressed all in black, including a scarf on his head, Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, urged the judge not to make his son a convicted felon. His plea: Withhold adjudication.
“My son has really, deeply been affected by what occurred in this accident,” Hogan said. “What I don’t want to see happen is another tragedy. Nick is going to have to live with this experience the rest of his life.”
He said the public misunderstands his son because his personality is not what was portrayed on the family’s reality television show, which Hogan said was scripted. Hogan said his son would be sitting at his computer and show producers would ask him to throw water balloons. “Nick is a good person,” Hogan said. “He’s kind. He’s gentle. He’s compassionate.”
Graziano’s father pressed for jail time, saying, “This has gone on long enough and needs to be stopped.”
Citing his son’s service in the Marine Corps, Edward Graziano said, “What al-Qaida could not do to my son, Nick Bollea did in a matter of minutes. He destroyed my son’s future. …This court must put a stop to Nick’s repeated disregard to speeding laws.”
Graziano’s family members are asking for an adjudication of guilt and six months to a year in jail, Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser said. “We would go along with what their wish is in this case,” the prosecutor said.
Rosenwasser noted that the defendant’s father wrote the court, saying the crash was an accident. The prosecutor said he wanted Bollea to understand that was not the case. The prosecutor said Bollea made the choice to drive the way he did on a wet road. “I want him to understand that it’s his fault. This crash was his fault and only his fault.”
The prosecutor joined family members urging the judge to adjudicate Bollea guilty. He also asked for 500 hours of community service work and drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment.
Graziano family members said Bollea has not shown remorse or apologized for the crash. They said Bollea rode a skateboard and shot darts in the hospital while visiting their son there. They also cited Bollea’s numerous past speeding citations, saying he failed to learn a lesson.
Bollea’s defense attorney, Kevin Hayslett, asked the judge to withhold adjudication of guilt and revoke his driver’s license for a year. During the hearing, Hulk Hogan sat behind his son in the courtroom, bowing his head against hands that were pressed together as though in prayer.
Graziano’s guardian filed a lawsuit in March against Hulk Hogan and his family for injuries that left the Iraq war veteran in a semiconscious state.
Guardian Peter Musante is suing the famed former wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, as well as Bollea’s estranged wife, Linda, who has filed for divorce. The suit also names Nick Bollea as a defendant.
Millions of dollars are needed to take care of Graziano, who resides at James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, said George Tragos, the attorney representing Graziano in the civil lawsuit.
TheGraziano family is in court to give the presiding judge their opinions.
If Bollea is adjudicated guilty, it could strengthen the civil suit, Tragos said.
The teen was driving a Toyota Supra when it smacked into a tree. The driver whom police say Bollea was racing, Danny Jacobs, 22, also is being sued.
Part of Graziano’s frontal lobe had to be removed, but he responds to heat and touch, and there is eye movement. On occasion, he has breathed without a ventilator.
Before the wreck, Bollea — at the wheel of the Supra — and Jacobs — at the wheel of a Dodge Viper — were racing through downtown Clearwater, police say. The Supra, which came from the factory with 300 to 330 horsepower, had been modified to more than 400 horsepower, the suit states.
Jacobs pleaded no contest in February to a charge of reckless driving and was sentenced to probation.
good for the spoiled little bastard like it said what al quida couldnt do to him douche did it in a matter of 30 seconds maybe? i think he got off nice and easy as opposed to the graziano kid
So Hogan wasnt jailed,his son was!
Correct, fix that damn title before someone else reads the whole stupid thing.
fixed
boo hoo. That’ll learn 'im.
After reading that first off I feel bad for John Graziano and his family…obviously. One thing I don’t like is how the Graziano family is changing their whole tone about the accident…which seems b/c they want a major lawsuit. Here is what they said right after the accident…nowtheir view is totally different once there is a civil suit. I do feel really bad for the family and I could not imagine dealing with something like this…but it just seems like someone trying to make some $$ after you read what they said earlier vs what they are saying now.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20579427/
ST. PETERSBURG - The mother of a Dunedin man critically injured in a car accident Aug. 26 is standing behind the famous family of professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, whose son was driving the car.
John Graziano, a 22-year-old Marine just back from Iraq, was a passenger in a car driven by Hogan’s 17-year-old son, Nick Bollea, that lost control in Clearwater and struck a tree. Graziano remains hospitalized at Bayfront Medical Center. Bollea was treated and released for serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Hogan’s real name is Terry Bollea, but his family also uses the last name Hogan in the reality show, “Hogan Knows Best,” which airs on VH1.
Bay News 9 reported Monday receiving an exclusive e-mail from Debbie Graziano that supports the Hogans and thanks the community for praying for and supporting her son.
Debbie Graziano said she was compelled to write after “hearing small bites of what is being said in the media” regarding the accident. She said the Hogans - Terry, his wife, Linda, and Nick - have visited the hospital every day, personally delivering food and offering support.
“My son John has been very close to the Bollea family for over six years,” she wrote, according to the television station. “Since day one of this nightmare, they have been with us physically, emotionally, mentally and financially.”
The e-mail says Nick Bollea, despite his own injuries, has sat for hours each day with the family. It says Hogan’s family did not hide after the accident for fear of backlash by Graziano’s family.
The two young men became friends over a shared loved of cars, Debbie Graziano wrote. “My son was like an older brother to Nick.”
Clearwater police continue to investigate the accident, but they have said it involved excessive speed.
John Graziano bought his mother a car before leaving for Iraq, she wrote, “so he would know I was driving safely while he was gone and he paid for it with his combat pay.”
She said her son, who she described as “naturally cool” with “little tolerance for fuss” would be angry to know that his family is “being torn apart in the media by assumptions and downright lies.”
Debbie Graziano did not elaborate, but concluded her e-mail by re-emphasizing her appreciation for the Hogans. She said they are holding Nick accountable as good parents should, and she said he is suffering for what has happened to his friend.
“Terry and Linda are doing everything to remove any burden from me, so my only focus is John,” she wrote, “out of their love for John, period.”
:gives:
He won’t learn.
he got off easy
:stupid: