Kelley/Uustal Law Firm Miles Mcchesney.
Miles McChesney has been identified as the man Jennifer St. Clair was with on the night she died. She fell off the back of a motorcycle, driven by 34-year-old Mcchesney, sometime after midnight on December 7 along I-95 in Pompano Beach, Florida. He is from Schenectady, New York.
Attorney Todd Falzone of the Kelley/Uustal law firm, representing the St. Clair family, explained in a news conference on December 14 that McChesney did not try to help St. Clair after she went off the bike and left the scene. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, St. Clair’s body was found in the center lane. Falzone said she was struck by at least nine vehicles.
After the incident, McChesney immediately obtained legal representation. According to Falzone, McChesney has refused to cooperate with investigators. He reportedly asked for legal immunity in exchange for cooperation with law enforcement; as Falzone said, this was at the very beginning of the investigation.
The family of Jennifer St. Clair filed a lawsuit against McChesney. The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate and has not filed any charges related to her death.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Miles McChesney Did Not Call 911 After St. Clair Went Off the Bike But Instead Called His Cousin, Who Had Been With Them That Night
FacebookJennifer Amy St. Clair
Miles McChesney and Jennifer St. Clair met on Tinder and the night of December 6 was their first date. He picked her up at her home in Fort Lauderdale on a motorcycle. Two other couples were also present. One of those people has been identified as McChesney’s cousin, Bill Young. McChesney, who is from New York, was visiting Young and had been in Florida for only a couple of days.
The six of them went to at least three bars in Delray Beach. On the way back to Fort Lauderdale, McChesney and St. Clair fell behind the other two bikes on I-95. She somehow fell off.
Attorney Todd Falzone said that McChesney did not try to help St. Clair. He called his cousin, Bill Young, and told him what happened. McChesney left the scene and reconnected with his cousin, who had called 911. Police have not shared that phone call with Falzone or the St. Clair family.
While this was happening, St. Clair was struck by at least nine vehicles. She died at the scene.
2. McChesney is Accused of Drinking Too Much Alcohol & Therefore Causing St. Clair to Fall Off the Motorcycle
The complaint in the wrongful death lawsuit filed in Broward County is embedded above. Prosecutors say McChesney drank enough alcohol while they were in downtown Delray to “the point where he came impaired.”
In the lawsuit, McChesney is accused of driving dangerously and therefore causing St. Clair to fall off the bike. Here is the exact wording: “At approximately 2 a.m., while impaired, Defendant Miles McChesney carelessly and negligently operated, controlled and/or maintained the aforementioned motorcycle so as to cause decedent, Jennifer A. St. Clair, to be expelled from said motorcycle into oncoming traffic on I-95. After stopping briefly but rendering no aid or assistance to Jennifer A. St. Clair, Miles McChesney left the scene. After Jennifer A. St. Clair was expelled from the subject motorcycle she was struck by multiple vehicles and tragically killed.”
In the lawsuit, the St. Clair family is asking for a jury trial and $15,000 in damages.
3. Miles McChesney Was Recently Incarcerated in New York; Prior Convictions Included Burglary & Felon in Possession of a Firearm
Miles McChesney lives in Schenectady, New York, located about 20 miles away from the state’s capital of Albany. St. Clair family attorney Todd Falzone explained that McChesney had been behind bars as recently as mid-November. He did not expand on why McChesney had been detained or what crime he had been accused of doing.
An online search of court records in New York state did not reveal any cases linked to McChesney, but federal records with the Northern District of New York did. A clause in one of those court documents reveals that in 2007, he was convicted of Burglary in the Third Degree. That is a Class D felony in New York, and he was sentenced to one year behind bars.
Due to that conviction, McChesney was no longer allowed to own a gun. In November of 2011, he faced legal trouble for possessing and selling a weapon. That criminal complaint is embedded above. Investigators said he sold a CBC/Mossberg .22 caliber rifle while still on parole.
In 2015, McChesney was charged with Escape after investigators said he left an institution “in which he was lawfully confined” without permission. According to court records, he had been detained at the Horizon House Residential Reentry Center in Albany, New York. McChesney was being held there due to his former conviction on unlawful possession of a firearm “and his subsequent violation of the conditions of supervised release for that offense.”
In August 2017, McChesney was sentenced to 18 months in prison for violating terms of parole. According to the court record, embedded above, he was accused of violating the following terms:
• Failure to Report to Probation as directed
• Failure to Answer Truthfully to Probation
• Failure to Secure Employment
• Failure to notify Probation of Address Change
• Illicit Drug Use
• Failure to Participate in Drug Treatment
He was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshal. When deciding the sentence, the judge wrote the following reason:
“The eighteen months represents an upward departure for the following reasons: Mr. McChesney continues to pose a danger to the community as evidenced by his previous revocations and the circumstances surrounding the current violation. He has shown willful violation of his conditions of supervised release to include various infractions. In addition to the above, the court considered his new arrest for resisting arrest, his continued abuse of illicit substances, failure to attend substance abuse treatment in order to address his long time affliction and the defendant’s failure to comply with even the most basic requirements of supervision, ultimately deciding to stop reporting to Probation. Despite being afforded opportunities to change his criminal thinking and address his addiction, the current revocation represents the defendant’s third revocation for such violations, resulting in a pattern of high risk behaviors. He has failed to demonstrate any willingness to change.”
4. Miles McChesney Has Not Cooperated With Investigators, According to the St. Clair Family Attorney
The lawsuit was filed by Becky St. Clair, her mother, and her stepfather Robert Burns on behalf of the family. Jennifer’s biological father is Jack St. Clair. In the lawsuit, they are asking for $15,000 in damages to help with funeral and medical expenses. It also states that the family members “have suffered and will continue to suffer mental pain” from losing their daughter.
Miles McChesney obtained legal representation immediately following St. Clair’s death. He is being represented by Russell Cormican, who has called the situation a “tragic event” but has not commented further.
Attorney Todd Falzone shared that McChesney reportedly requested legal immunity in return for cooperation. That request was not granted because the investigation had just begun.
It’s worth mentioning that the lawsuit filed in Broward County is on behalf of the St. Clair family. Law enforcement has not yet concluded its own investigation and therefore criminal charges could be filed.
5. The Motorcycle Was Owned by a Man Named John E. Lewis, Who is Named as a Second Defendant in the Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed by Jennifer St. Clair’s Parents
Miles McChesney did not own the motorcycle in question. The 2001 Harley Davidson was previously owned by his cousin, Bill Young. Young had sold it to John E. Lewis.
Young asked Lewis if they could borrow the motorcycle while McChesney was visiting. Under Florida law, the owner of a vehicle is responsible for whatever happens while someone else is driving that vehicle.
The vehicle was a 2001 Harley Davidson. It had a back seat for a passenger.