Criminal Activity in the Death of Cal Holman

On December 28, 2007 two men drag racing on Scottsdale Road slammed into Cal Holman in his car just minutes from his house. Cal was killed instantly. Robert Van Brakel, 42, of Phoenix and Travis Aronica, 25, of Canton MI were arrested and charged with second degree murder. Each was released on $25,000 bond. They currently were charged with Manslaughter. You can follow the trial by going to the Maricopa County site and enter Case Number CR2008-031157 You can also go to the Clerk of the Superior Court Minute Entries and enter the same Case Number (w/o the dash) CR2008031157
Van Brakel was driving an AMG Mercedes, after hitting Cal Holman his car continued 75 feet past the intersection. Van Brakel hit first on the passenger side. He did not sustain any injuries in the crash. Since 2004 there have been 7 tickets for various moving violations. Driving 55 in a 35 zone, 67 in a 40 zone, and failing to yield in a cross walk are a sample of his driving record. Van Brakel has several pervious driving violations. One ticket in 2004, was for doing 120 miles per hour in a 75 miles per hour zone. He drag raced his Mercedes reaching 112 miles per hour. The time ticket is posted at Firebird International Raceway - http://tinyurl.com/27uu33. 'Count 1 (amended): MANSLAUGHTER, a class 2 felony, committed on December 28, 2007 in Scottsdale Arizona by recklessly causing the death of Calvin Holman.' And the following charges are dropped: COUNT 2: ENDANGERMENT and COUNT 3 and 4: DUI Full Text of Van Brakel Plea Agreement Aronica accepted his plea agreement pleading guilty and further indicated that he and Van Brakel were racing.
Aronica's Mustang flipped on impact and landed in the ditch on the side of Scottsdale. Aronica was injured with a broken arm and his passenger had minor cuts. Since 2002 Aronica has had 13 citations. On December 3rd, less than four weeks prior to the accident where he hit and killed Cal Holman, he was cited for doing 88 miles per hour in a 60 miles per hour zone. This was in Texas while he was traveling to Arizona. Other citations include speeding. In Virginia speeding 84 in a 65 zone, in Florida traveling 20-29 miles per hour over the posted speed, again in Virginia speeding 79 in a 65 zone, in Maryland he had four speeding violations, and in Michigan he has 3 violations for speeding including a careless driving and a 78 in a 55 zone. 'In exchange for his truthful testimony at trial, Defendant ( Travis Aronica) will plead guilty to Count 1 (amended) Endangerment a class 6 designated felony, non-dangerous non-repetitive and Count 2 (amended) Endangerment, a class 6 undesignated non-dangerous, non-repetitive felony. Defendant will be placed on probation as to both counts. Count 2 is to remain undesignated until successful completion of probation. Defendant will participate in a 'free talk' prior to entry of the change of plea.' Full Text of Aronica Plea Agreement
Van Brakel and Aronica arriving at the police station.