Man gets 10 years after probation violation
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 6 months AGO
BURLEY (AP) - A Heyburn man who received a suspended sentence in a deadly 2005 alcohol-involved crash has had his probation revoked and been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Robert Ray Brackenbury, 27, was sentenced Friday in 5th District Court to 10 years for vehicular manslaughter as well as a concurrent 10 years for driving under the influence.
Judge Michael Crabtree ordered that Brackenbury serve at least two and a half years, and credited him with one year he already served in the county jail.
Brackenbury pleaded guilty in July to driving under the influence last November. The DUI also violated his probation on the vehicular manslaughter conviction six years ago for the death of his 14-year-old passenger, Aimee Marie Souza, of Rupert.
"The question I've struggled with in both of these cases is how much is enough of a penalty to deter you in the future, punish you for your conduct, to set there in public record for anyone who is watching and perhaps deter their conduct," Crabtree said.
Brackenburry told Crabtree that, despite the prosecution's claims, he's remorseful about Souza's death.
"If there was something I could do (to bring her back) I would do it, I would go to the end of the world to do it," he said. "But I can't, I'm kind of between a rock and a hard place on that. Nobody in this courtroom knows what goes through my head every day. Nobody hears my prayers and I know nobody has seen me stop on that corner. And I've done it a hundred times and I get on my knees and pray right there."
Crabtree also ordered that after Brackenbury's release from prison, his license be suspended for five years. He also ordered that an interlock ignition system be installed on Brackenbury's vehicle for two years when he gets his license back.
"This particular offense is one that is deplored by the community," Crabtree said. "Driving under the influence of alcohol under any circumstances is, in my words, akin to shooting off a gun in a crowded area in public. Someone might get hurt, someone might not get hurt. The risk is so great."