Michael Cardoza, the attorney Brown hired before he
was identified as a suspect, said his client's main
transgression was to leave the scene of the
collision.
Actually, it's what he did afterwards that made it worse
From the Martinez Gazette dated May 20, 2010 (
http://www.martinezgazette.com/news/...ace-sentencing)
“Brown confessed to this friend in the week following Mark’s death that he had killed a man. At first she wanted the reward, but after she was put on the stand she decided she didn’t want to take it,” said Pendleton. “She admitted on the stand that Brown wanted her to help him cover up the crime, but then she got her own lawyer.”
Also, I did remember seeing an article in the Contra Costa Times (but can't find the article online now) that stated that not only did Brown not come forward, he actually fixed the truck himself in an effort to further cover up what he did.
It's too bad he only got one year in jail.