Crime

Party Ranch Samaritan Sentenced to 10 Years Probation

By Chelsea Reinhard, Aug 20, 2014
 

Allen Lee Schmidt was sentenced to 10 years probation for manslaughter Wednesday afternoon.

At approximately 5 p.m., the cries of victim Donald Di Pietro's mother reverberated throughout the entire courthouse.

"What's worse than a life?!" Teresa Di Pietro cried. "How can it come to this?"

Schmidt was found guilty of manslaughter Tuesday evening. The jury also found that the vehicle used in the incident should be considered a deadly weapon. The charges stem from the March 9, 2013 fatal crash in front of the Party Ranch bar on Christoval Road in San Angelo. Di Pietro, an off-duty U.S. Marine from Goodfellow AFB riding a Victory motorcycle, crashed into a disabled pickup that Schmidt and the pickup truck's owner Malcolm McBurnett had pushed out and onto the dimly-lit roadway. Di Pietro died in the crash.

Here are more details about the incident and trial.

Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily

View Past Issues

The LIVE! Daily is the "newspaper to your email" for San Angelo. Each content-packed edition has weather, the popular Top of the Email opinion and rumor mill column, news around the state of Texas, news around west Texas, the latest news stories from San Angelo LIVE!, events, and the most recent obituaries. The bottom of the email contains the most recent rants and comments. The LIVE! daily is emailed 5 days per week. On Sundays, subscribers receive the West Texas Real Estate LIVE! email.

Required

Most Recent Videos

Comments

jdgt, Wed, 08/20/2014 - 17:46
I understand a mother grieving for her son... but putting a man behind bars for a horrible accident isn't going to bring him back. 10 years parole is more than fair.
Permalink
Here's an interesting twist to the whole story. Malcolm Guy McBurnett - the guy who owned the disabled truck - was also charged with intoxication manslaughter w/vehicle, manslaughter, and criminal negligent homicide. Per SAL, "Following a competency hearing on May 5, 2014, McBurnett’s jury trial was vacated and an order for extended mental health services was signed by the judge." Here's the best part...One week after the incident he was charged with expired registration - OK, so he screwed up. Four months later he was charged with driving while intoxicated 3rd or more...his FOURTH time for this offense! Prior to this, he's been charged with: CRIMINAL TRESPASS UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA MOTION TO REVOKE PROBATION THEFT ($750-$20,000) OR (LIVESTOCK < $20,000) EVADING DETENTION ENH SEXUAL ASSAULT THEFT < $750 TWO OR MORE CONV ANY THEFT GRADE UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA, CLASS B UNLAWFULLY CARRYING A WEAPON, CLASS A and, of course, the multiple DWIs... I'm sure he's wandering the streets (drunk as hell), just looking for another excuse for his lawyer to get him out of trouble...
Permalink
You can thank the "Tom Green County Criminal Case Records" for that one, as this was a direct copy from their website. Your tax dollars hard at work! Good catch!
Permalink
Yeah, spelling is a pet peeve of mine, but I'm somewhat tolerant of misspellings, as long as the intended message is received. Don't get me started on "tex-tese", though... I'm never wrong. There was that one time, but that was a mistake....
Permalink

Post a comment to this article here:

Login to CommentRegister to Comment