NEWTON COUNTY – A man convicted of first degree vehicular homicide received the maximum sentence possible in Newton County court.
Stephen James Taffe has received 17 years in confinement after rear-ending another vehicle over Memorial Day weekend 2023, according to the Newton County District Attorney’s Office.
The driver of the other vehicle, Angelina Fuller, died as a result of the crash. An investigation revealed that Taffe was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.
Taffe’s charges included first degree vehicular homicide, driving under the influence (DUI), driving while license suspended, following too closely and open container. He pleaded guilty to all of these charges in early February 2025.
Taffe’s blood alcohol level was found to be over three times the legal limit at the time of the incident, according to the DA’s office. However, his vehicle was equipped with an ignition interlock device, which requires the driver to self-administer a breath test that prohibits the vehicle from starting if alcohol is detected. It was installed because Taffe had a prior DUI conviction.
Following a court-ordered investigation, the DA’s office presented evidence from the ignition interlock device company that supported that the device had not malfunctioned. Rather, it had been tampered with, allowing Taffe to drive without administering and passing the breath test.
At the sentencing hearing, the court also heard a 911 call from a concerned citizen who saw Taffe’s erratic driving and listened to recorded jail calls from Taffe that reportedly “showed a lack of remorse.”
Before issuing Taffe the maximum sentence, the court also heard statements from Fuller’s friends and family, exhibiting the impact her death has had on their lives.
“When someone drives under the influence, it turns their car into a weapon that can kill,” District Attorney Randy McGinley said in a statement on Facebook. “Any loss of life due to a DUI driver is unacceptable and tragic, but this case is especially egregious. Not only did Taffe have a history of DUIs and he was extremely intoxicated, but he also took steps to bypass a device installed in his car that was designed to stop him from driving if he had alcohol in his system.
“Nothing will undo the loss Ms. Fuller’s family suffered. But I hope this sentence can send a message to every driver out there that driving under the influence is unacceptable.”
