Dena Paige Devine, the 53-year-old woman who hit and killed motorcyclist Jordan Piergrossi on Honeycutt Road in January, drank several beers and ate a marijuana edible before she got behind the wheel that night.

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But, Pinal County’s chief legal officer told InMaricopa in an exclusive interview this morning, prosecutors are not done pursuing justice for Piergrossi, the 47-year-old father from Mesa. In fact, the grand jury’s decision spells direr criminal charges to come for Devine, who lives on Conlon Road in Homestead.

“We’re going to take it back to city court,” Volkmer said of the case today. “She will be charged with DUI and misdemeanor manslaughter.”

Volkmer said he had unsealed certain court documents in order to share this information with InMaricopa.

Moving forward with manslaughter

Under Arizona traffic law, involuntary or “misdemeanor” manslaughter is punished by six months in jail, up to $100,000 in restitution to the victim’s family and a one-year suspension of driving privileges. This, as opposed to vehicular manslaughter, a felony charge that carries a sentence of up to 21 years in prison and other penalties.

When prosecutors soon file the new charges in Maricopa Municipal Court, Volkmer said, defense attorneys will argue that Piergrossi was at fault in the Jan. 20 fatal crash near Continental Boulevard.

A scene reconstructionist had estimated Piergrossi was traveling 59 miles per hour at the moment of impact and 70 miles per hour immediately before impact, in a 45-mile-per-hour zone, Volkmer said.

“He further opined that if [Piergrossi] was not speeding, the accident would not have happened,” the county attorney said of the expert witness.

Prosecutors can secure a manslaughter conviction under the Arizona law even if defense attorneys prove Piergrossi was traveling at criminal speed. The prosecutors will need to prove Devine was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

Signs of impairment

“When talking to Dena, I could smell the odor of intoxicating beverages emanating from her,” Maricopa Police Department Officer Adam Abel stated in a Jan. 20 police report. “Dena was crying as well.”

“I asked Dena if she had anything to drink tonight,” the officer’s report continued. “Dena said she had three to four beers.”

The male passenger in Devine’s car told an investigator at the scene they had drunk “approximately four beers” each.

Devine’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash is unknown. MPD Officer Adam Pittman confirmed she tested positive for THC.

MPD officers drew blood from Devine for the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab to test for alcohol level. They then conducted their investigation and turned over their findings to the Pinal County Vehicular Crimes Bureau, comprised of officers from the county sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies. 

In his crash-scene narrative, Officer Pittman said he conducted the field sobriety test. 

“Dena was very wobbly and unable to keep her balance,” Pittman wrote, adding she also had trouble stepping heal to toe. 

Another MPD officer, Kennedy Wiemiller, noted in a different police report that Devine had shown multiple signs of impairment during a field-sobriety eye test.

More evidence on the way

After the test, cops mirandized Devine and transported her to Exceptional Community Hospital in Maricopa for a blood draw. She was then taken back to the scene to be interviewed by the sheriff’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, which in turn had her drug tested. 

Vehicular crimes Officer Tyler Gordon with Eloy Police Department, the lead investigator in the crash probe, said an Eloy Municipal Court judge issued a warrant Jan. 29 giving the task force access to the “black box” of Devine’s vehicle. 

The so-called black box is a device formally known as an “event data recorder.” All newer vehicles today have EDRs. The device helps investigators determine who was at fault by detailing what happened in the moments before a collision. 

The Eloy Municipal Court case remained open this afternoon, according to the Arizona Judicial Branch.

Volkmer did not specify when attorneys would file the new charges in a Maricopa court.

Jeff Chew contributed to this report.