I first want to apologize...I normally do not post these particular blog entries here...but I felt it was imperative that I get the word out...
(Revised 07/08/2010)
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(This is a listing of the items filed in court on Hovey regarding this case)
(Chico E-R news article regarding the probation violation)
(This is a forum discussion that someone started....)
www.paradisepost.com/opinion/ci_15378819
(This is an opinion letter to the paradise post...)
I would really love to overflow that courtroom with people....overwhelm their mailroom and email inboxes with letters asking for justice....Please...I am begging you....help us achieve justice this time if we are given that opportunity...
I would like to share some thoughts with you and I apologize if I offend anyone for that is never my intention, but I do realize that my strong feelings may not be shared by everyone who reads this blog...
Something to ponder...
I would like to point out that Hovey may not be a murderer...but he is, without question...a killer...he took a human life...plain and simple...He may not have specifically chosen Amit Tandon as his victim...but Troy Hovey was and is no child...
Hovey drank to excess...knowing he had issues with alcohol...He Chose...to drink (elevating his BAC to Three Times the Legal Limit)...He Chose...to not call his wife or a taxi or Someone to get a safe ride home...He Chose... to get behind the wheel of a multi-ton vehicle turned death machine...He Chose... to drive at excessive speeds (between 60-90 mph by law enforcement estimates)...He Chose ...to talk on a cell phone while driving (at excessive speeds, intoxicated)...
All of these Choices Ultimately lead to Hovey driving Through a barrier and driving the wrong way on 99...Hovey drove through that barricade...The vehicle in front of Amit saw what was coming and was able to avoid Hovey...Unfortunately...Amit did not have that chance...
Hovey collided with the little Nissan truck that Amit was driving home...Home to his wife of only 7 months...a wife that was pregnant with his child whom he had found out only two days prior was to be a boy...a Child I would point out, Amit never had the chance to see, to hold, to love...
And despite all of that...Judge Glusman handed down a sentence that, to all but the most blind, was sickening and a mockery of the justice system. There have been people who have stolen walnuts from the orchards that received a harsher punishment than Hovey ...a man who took, nay stole, a human life...
What happened on August 6th of 2008 was a collision resulting from One person's Series of Selfish, Bad choices...That crash was not an accident (an accident implies no one is at fault)...It is no different than waving a gun around and having it go off...one knows that a gun can be dangerous and that waving it around is extremely dangerous...and if you choose to wave that gun around...you know there is a risk that someone will get hurt or die...Hovey made choices...and those choices resulted in the death of a 32 year old husband, son, brother, friend, and father...
Amit Tandon...Never had a Choice...
Thousands die each year...senselessly...at the hands of drunk drivers...more deaths, in fact, than all the soldiers that have died in Iraq or Afghanistan. The difference? Soldiers choose to be soldiers...These victims...Never had a Choice...
Right or Wrong, Troy Hovey was given an opportunity by Glusman to channel his remorse to "embrace recovery"...and yet....In the two years since Amit has died...has Hovey shown or demonstrated remorse? Has he "Embraced" recovery? Has Hovey done anything of his own volition (that is, has he done anything on his own, of his own free will) to show his remorse or to address his alcohol addiction? or has he only done what the court has required him to do?...I don't know, but I don't feel like he has...Example?...At the end of May/beginning of June, Troy Hovey, via facebook, inquired, on a motorsport vehicle business page, as to the availability and cost of a recreational vehicle. I ask you...Would a man filled with remorse over the taking of a life be 1) playing on facebook and 2) inquiring as to the availability of a luxury item purchase with a price tag approaching $9000? Meanwhile, the widow of his victim, Deepika Tandon, works every single day to make ends meet and provide for her child...I am sorry, but that does not sound like an act of a remorseful person.
What I also know is that Hovey is facing charges of having violated his probation, of falsifying AA logs...Would a remorseful person violate probation? Would a remorseful person falsify AA logs? Would someone who has "embraced" recovery falsify AA logs? And if he is guilty of falsifying the AA logs, then a potentially even more serious question may be, what else could he be guilty of?
I do not desire vengeance...vengeance is an act of violence, of hate, ...an act of inflicting harm or the like on another as a means of revenge, I do not choose to foster hate...there is nothing in this world that will bring Amit back to Deepika and those that cared for him...no matter how hard we might wish and hate accomplishes nothing...What I would like...and what I would ask each and every person to consider, is the need for justice... A man has violated the law and he must be held accountable for his actions. If he is not remorseful of his prior or "alleged" recent crimes and he has not embraced recovery, he has the potential to repeat his past sins...and in so doing, puts each and every one of us and our loved ones at risk. Perhaps Troy Hovey Needs to go to prison... not only to be held accountable for his actions and misdeeds, but to gain perspective on what he has done and to be given the opportunity in a more secure and supervised setting, to attempt recovery. There are no guarantees as to whether or not Hovey will ever have remorse or will ever seriously address his addictions, however, I do believe that keeping him off the streets for as long as possible could save lives.
We must ALL take a stand...We must ALL let our voices be heard....Write letters, emails, make phone calls, share the stories, vote, do whatever you can to take a stand...to make a difference. As I have said many a time...In August of 2008, Amit was the one who fell victim, leaving behind his wife, sick child, family, and friends....all of us, losing a little piece of our hearts...tonight, tomorrow, next month, next year, the victim could be someone you care about...
