MARTINEZ — The person who crashed his automotive into three 12-year-old step-siblings, killing one and injuring two, was sentenced to 9 years and eight months in jail after giving a Contra Costa decide final management over his destiny, information present.
However earlier than he was formally sentenced, 31-year-old Ray Shaqil Reeves heard essays learn aloud in court docket from the boy and woman who had been strolling with 12-year-old Gianathon Vincent on the day he was killed in September 2022. Police stated on the time that Reeves’ was dashing in a Chevrolet Impala that crashed right into a Mercury Mystique at a crimson mild close to Sycamore Drive and Manzanita Method, inflicting the Chevrolet to depart the roadway and strike the three kids on their approach dwelling from college.
“I just want you to know I love and I miss you a lot and you will always be in my heart forever. A lot don’t feel the same without you, everything just feels so rotten and cold,” Gianathon’s now 14-year-old stepsister stated in court docket the day Reeves was sentenced.
Gianathon’s stepbrother stated in an essay that he remembered strolling dwelling and shopping for snacks for the trio, when their day was interrupted by a “big bang.”
“After the bang I was found in between two bushes. I was able to see smoke coming out of the car, and there was blood everywhere, including on me. I heard ringing in my ears … I was able to hear people asking if I needed help,” he wrote. “At one point I was able to taste blood, I could also taste alcohol due to the paramedics trying to wash the blood out of my mouth.”
All three kids had been hospitalized with intensive accidents, and the drivers of each automobiles had been additionally transported to a medical heart, police stated on the time. Reeves was later charged with manslaughter and assault. He pleaded no contest with out an agreed-upon sentence, giving Decide Charles “Ben” Burch the ability to decide on.
The protection argued for a two-year jail time period. Prosecutors argued for the nine-year, eight-month sentence, the utmost allowable by statute. Reeves apologized throughout his sentencing listening to, saying he was consumed by regret. After the sentence, the Contra Costa District Lawyer’s Workplace launched an announcement by the prosecutor, Aron DeFerrari, calling it a “profoundly sad incident” that “cannot be described in words alone.”
In her essay, Gianathon’s stepsister didn’t maintain again when it got here to Reeves, calling him “evil” and deserving of a “worse life.” She saved her last phrases for her brother.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye, I know you’re still looking over me,” she wrote. “I hope you’re having a blast in heaven playing football and basketball with the others around you.”
