Machiavelli T. Savoy, 24, of Lexington Park was sentenced to 15 years in the Maryland Department of Corrections on March 6 in accord with a plea agreement.
Savoy made an Alford plea in the death of Carol Jean Anderson in a March 3, 2019, two-vehicle crash. In an Alford plea, one does not admit guilt but acknowledges the state has enough evidence for a conviction.
Visiting Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr. from Prince George County sentenced Savoy to 10 years for felony manslaughter and five years for misdemeanor illegal gun possession. The sentences will run consecutively. Savoy was given credit for 1,437 days in jail. He had been charged with second-degree murder and numerous other charges, including drug possession with intent to distribute and eluding police. Those were dismissed.
Savoy was driving a 1995 GMC Jimmy that crossed the centerline of Pegg Road and collided with a 2016 Volkswagen Beetle, killing its driver, Carol Jean Anderson, an 87-year-old resident of the Valley Lee area.
Nichols allowed Savoy to remain in the St. Mary’s County Jail for 30 additional days due to a pending case from January 2019 involving eight misdemeanors, including six gun-related charges and two resisting arrest.
Assistant state’s attorney Joseph D. Boyd said he spoke with Anderson’s daughter, who declined to make a victim impact statement. Boyd said she was OK with the plea agreement.
“To their kind credit, they had some sympathy to a young black man being chased by police,” defense attorney Justin T. Eisele said. “The state trooper started it and the sheriff’s office got caught up in it,” he said, referring to the chase that led to Anderson’s death.
Savoy read a statement prior to sentencing in which he apologized to Anderson’s family and said he’s very remorseful. “I’m sorry … it hurts like hell,” he said. “I take complete responsibility for what happened.”
Nichols referred to Savoy having no recollection of what happened and noted his tough upbringing. “Hopefully, you’ll come out a better person,” the judge said.
Nichols said that, generally, one is eligible for parole after serving 50% of a sentence, but Eisele said he had an agreement with previous assistant state’s attorneys Buffy Giddens and Laura Caspar that Savoy would be eligible before serving half of the sentence. Nichols said that would be decided later. Nichols said the sentence went above the state guidelines.
According to the indictment, Savoy took the GMC Jimmy from Denise Elizabeth Kay Norris without her approval and was in possession of a sizable amount of marijuana and a .22 Ruger handgun.
Savoy was convicted of two counts of illegal gun possession, including a Browning Buck Mark .22, on Jan. 5, 2018. Those cases stemmed from January and August 2017. He was also given “probation before judgment” for misdemeanor assault stemming from May 2017.
Savoy also faces four misdemeanor assault charges from last Nov. 20 and 23 while he was in jail. In one of those cases, Savoy was charged in relation to a fight that broke out following a religious service.