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New Jersey man sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing Mount Laurel restaurant owner in fiery DUI crash

Desmond Newberry, who was driving at 126 mph when he killed 52-year-old Glenn Keen, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

A judge's gavel rests on a book of law.
A judge's gavel rests on a book of law.Read moreDreamstime / MCT

A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 12 years in state prison for killing a longtime restaurant owner in a high-speed crash while he was driving drunk.

Desmond Newberry, 45, had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit and was driving 126 mph when he crashed his BMW into a Ford SUV driven by Glenn Keen, 52, one of the owners of a Mount Laurel restaurant. Keen was leaving the parking lot of his restaurant, Cucina Carini, on Hainesport Road, the night of Sept. 3, 2022, when Newberry slammed his car into Keen’s SUV, and it burst into flames.

Bystanders pulled Keen from the wreckage and he was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Newberry, of Marlton, suffered minor injuries.

He pleaded guilty in April to first-degree aggravated manslaughter. He did not dispute his blood-alcohol reading of .256 taken immediately after the crash. Newberry had previously pleaded guilty to DUI twice, authorities said.

On Monday in Mount Holly, state Superior Court Judge Terrence R. Cook sentenced Newberry to a 12-year prison term. Newberry must serve 85% of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Once he is released, his driver’s license will be suspended for 10 years.

Newberry’s lawyer, Mark Fury, said Wednesday that Newberry had struggled with alcohol abuse leading up to the crash that killed Keen, who had opened the restaurant with his wife in 1995.

“Obviously, it’s a terrible tragedy,” Fury said..