Shandy had pleaded no contest before the trial to a fourth count of first-degree witness tampering.

The case dates back to the night of Nov. 29, 2005, when a four-wheeler operated by Shandy and carrying Roxanne Herndon, 25 at the time, went off a breakwater and into Ninilchik River.

The couple had just announced their engagement earlier that day and was riding the four-wheeler, owned by Shandy's father, Dave Shandy of Ninilchik, on Ninilchik beach north of the river's mouth when the incident occurred. After reportedly searching for Herndon, Shandy went for help at the Ninilchik village residence of Herndon's grandmother, Laura Trunnell. A 911 call was placed and searchers found Herndon face down in the river. Two hours later, Herndon was declared dead from injuries sustained in the incident.

Shandy also was injured. According to his father, he suffered a concussion and cuts that required stitches.

Blood drawn from Shandy approximately 90 minutes after the incident indicated a blood-alcohol content level of .11; the legal limit in Alaska is .08.

Shandy has been at Wildwood Pretrial Facility in Kenai since Nov. 29, 2005. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 19.

According to Assistant Kenai District Attorney Jean Seaton, the manslaughter charge carries a minimum 15-year sentence.

"If the judge finds some mitigating factors, the judge has the discretion to reduce that, but at this point, this is the minimum he's looking at," Seaton said.

The sentence for criminally negligent homicide will not be separate, but will merge with the manslaughter charge, Seaton said.

After finding Shandy guilty of driving under the influence, the six-man, six-woman jury was informed of Shandy's previous DUI convictions. In a fourth verdict Friday, the jury found Shandy to have been previously convicted of two or more DUIs, refusal to submit to a chemical test or similar offense within 10 years prior to Nov. 29, 2005.

"A felony (DUI) makes the penalty higher," Seaton said of the three-year minimum. It also carries a permanent revocation of Shandy's drivers license.

Kenai Public Defender Bill Taylor, who represented Shandy, said he was surprised by the verdicts.

"(Herndon's) family never wanted him charged. They decided it was an accident," Taylor said.

Dave Shandy also was surprised by the guilty verdicts.

"It was a shock," Dave Shandy said, adding that the jury's decision also was a surprise to his son. "He didn't expect quite the verdict that came."

He questioned the jury's understanding of testimony given by Alfred Staubus. An Ohio State University emeritus faculty member, Staubus was called by Taylor as an expert witness of the effects of alcohol.

"I don't think the jury understood what he was saying," Dave Sandy said.

He also questioned testimony from Alaska State Troopers that Shandy was operating the four-wheeler at a high rate of speed, causing it to fly 50 feet through the air before hitting the river.

"That's not possible," Dave Shandy said, noting the ice and snow ground cover of a night all witnesses recall as dark and cold.

He also pointed to damage done to the vehicle which, to him, indicated it tumbled down the breakwater.

Dave Shandy also was critical of the schedule imposed on the jury.

"I think they hurried with their verdict because they didn't want to come back Monday morning," he said. "I really believe that. The judge shouldn't have told them if they didn't reach a verdict by 5 (p.m.), they had to come back."

Fourteen jurors were originally selected and sat through the trial, with two randomly selected to be excused before the final 12 began deliberating. One of those excused was Rhonda Owens of Homer. It was Owens' first time to sit in the jury box. After hearing of the jury's verdict, Owens said she believed justice was served.

Where Dave Shandy was critical of testimony that his son had operated the four-wheeler at a high rate of speed, Owens said from photographs shown, she had no doubt the speed was excessive.

"All the (tire) tracks in the picture were very different, but those stood out so much," she said. "Even after the ambulance had been there, they stood out. They were just hardly curving before it went over, into the river. Holy cow, being dark and so icy and driving like that."

A recorded telephone conversation that occurred between Shandy and his mother, Jean, the day after the incident helped convince Owens of Shandy's guilt.

"He put forth the idea of somebody saying Roxanne was the one driving," Owens said, adding, "He said on there, 'I don't have a leg to stand on this time.' It made you think there were other things going on."

From Owens' perspective, the prosecution "did a very good job of presenting their case," while the defense was "just pulling at straws, trying to discredit other people."

"The bottom line was she wouldn't have lost her life if he hadn't been drinking and driving," Owens said.

Of representation provided by Taylor, Dave Shandy said, "He did all he could do."

In terms of what happened the night of Nov. 29, Dave Shandy said, "What this amounts to is just a freak accident."

Seaton also recognized the tragedy of the incident.

"It's just very, very sad," she said. "It was just a needless death."

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.