What the plea leaves for sentencing
Andre Lamont Mathews, 34, of Brooklyn Park, pleaded guilty this week to homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle in the 2025 crash that killed David Burley, the Pioneer Press reported. Mathews was taken into custody after the hearing. The judge is scheduled to sentence him Dec. 7.
The plea agreement limits prosecutors’ sentencing recommendation to no more than 12 years of initial confinement and 10 years of extended supervision. The judge is not bound by that recommendation, and Wisconsin law allows up to 25 years in prison for the offense, according to the Wisconsin Legislature.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors dismissed charges of second-degree reckless homicide; homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration; failure to keep a vehicle under control; failure to wear a seat belt; and refusal to take an intoxication test after arrest, according to the Pioneer Press.
What investigators reported
The criminal complaint said witnesses saw Mathews’ 2011 Infiniti G25 traveling at high speed and moving between lanes before the crash. The Wisconsin State Patrol account, as reported by the Pioneer Press, says Mathews attempted to pass traffic on the shoulder, struck a guardrail, then collided with Burley’s motorcycle. The vehicles hit the median barrier.
At Regions Hospital, officers reported that Mathews smelled of alcohol and appeared disoriented and lethargic, the Pioneer Press reported. After he declined an evidentiary blood test, officers obtained a warrant. A sample taken nearly three hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.134, above Wisconsin’s 0.08 legal limit.
Burley, 58, died the day of the crash on westbound Interstate 94 near Hudson. He co-founded Blue Plate Restaurant Company with Stephanie Shimp. The Pioneer Press listed Groveland Tap, Longfellow Grill, Edina Grill, The Lowry and The Freehouse among the company’s restaurants. CBS News Minnesota reported that all seven Blue Plate restaurants closed for a day after his death: CBS News Minnesota.
Alcohol-related motorcycle crashes
Wisconsin recorded 155 alcohol-related motorcycle crashes in 2013, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The figure includes crashes of all severities, not just fatal crashes, and does not provide a count of alcohol-involved motorcycle fatalities.
