Court Shuts Down Man’s Claim Attorney Was Ineffective In Homicide By Vehicle Case

A former Bristol Township man who drove off and continued partying after he struck and fatally wounded a pedestrian in Levittown in 2012 had his claim that his attorney was ineffective struck down by the Pennsylvania Superior Court on Tuesday.

Charles Horrocks, 28, is serving a six and-a-half to 13 year prison sentence handed down in December 2012 by Bucks County Judge Wallace H. Bateman. Horrocks plead guilty to the most serious was homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence.

In an appeal filed to the state Superior Court, Horrocks claimed privately-hired defense attorney Louis Busico was ineffective and had him plead guilty under alleged “false promises.”

A state Superior Court panel of judges reviewed the appeal and dismissed it. In their filing, the judges said Horrocks’ claims did prove his claims and he was denied relief by the state court.
According to prosecutors, Horrocks had taken between six and 14 drinks and was speeding in his dark-colored Audi along New Falls Road in Bristol Township when he passed another vehicle using the shoulder and struck 36-year-old Eric Beck as he walked to meet his mother for a ride after a night at the bar with his brothers. Beck’s mother found her son dying in the roadway and embraced him as he slipped away.

After striking Beck, Horrocks went to a bar in Falls Township. Prosecutors said during his sentencing that he was seen laughing and giving high-fives to friends.

The morning after he struck Beck, Horrocks heard of the 36 year old’s death and hid his new unregistered Audi that had damage.

Friends of Horrocks heard of the crash and talked to police. His Audi was located hidden at a local storage center and Horrocks was taken into custody.

Horrocks did not have a valid license at the time he struck Beck and was on court monitoring after a robbery conviction, according to court records.

“You took away a piece of me that I will never get back,” Michelle Beck, Eric’s mother, said in court in 2012.

During sentencing, Bateman called Horrocks, a former standout football player at Harry S. Truman High School, a “maniac behind the wheel.”