A Lake County judge sentenced a Hammond woman to 20.5 years Thursday for running over her boyfriend twice in 2019.
Briana Rice, 26, was convicted in August under the late Judge Diane Boswell of multiple charges including voluntary manslaughter.
Witnesses said they overheard the pair arguing on April 24, 2019, near the 1700 block of East 135th Street in East Chicago before seeing Terrondy Jones, 25, under her car.
She is accused of leaving the scene and driving up to Chicago to see her half brother. She later turned herself into the police.
Jones, her boyfriend of 9 months, was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he died, records show.
Prosecutors alleged Rice was angry Jones was walking away from her, while defense lawyer Scott King said she was a person without a criminal history who made a series of poor choices that day.
Jones’ family spoke of their grief and said he left behind a young son. They asked Judge Gina Jones, no relation, for the maximum penalty.
“I miss my baby,” Jones’ mother said in court. “I’ll always miss him for the rest of my life.”
Rice’s mother, Lestavia Davis, said her daughter was a “good, smart, levelheaded kid.” She disputed that Rice was dependent on Jones, saying he was the one who needed her. That day, she was taking him to the library to fill out paperwork to get work, she said.
Rice apologized to Jones’ family.
“I never tried to hurt Terrondy,” she said.
Rice said she was looking at her phone and “froze” when she hit him. She should have called the police, but panicked and left the scene, she said.
She knew she would have to face the consequences, Rice said, and hoped to be out of prison in time as her 9-year-old daughter became a teen.
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” she said. “I’m not a criminal or a murderer.”
Prosecutors said the killing was senseless and asked for the maximum 30 years. King said the criminal justice system’s goal should be rehabilitation. He asked for the minimum 10 years required under law.
He noted Rice had already spent nearly 3 years in prison and had been hospitalized with a bout of COVID-19.
Prosecutor Jessica Arnold countered that Rice had to jump the curb and hit Jones on the sidewalk.
“You want me to leave you alone, I got you,” she said, quoting Rice’s alleged last words to Jones.
Judge Gina Jones noted Rice’s actions affected everyone in the courtroom that day.
“This is something you are going to have to live with forever,” she said.
She sentenced Rice to 17.5 years on the voluntary manslaughter conviction with an additional three years for leaving the scene of an accident. Rice was credited for 3.5 years of time served and good time credit.
Rice was acquitted of murder, but convicted of voluntary manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon. The last charge was merged, leaving the sentence to be decided on voluntary manslaughter and leaving the scene.
That day, Rice and Jones started arguing at the Hammond library and left in Rice’s gold 2007 Buick Lucerne. They continued to argue as she took Jones to East Chicago where he was staying with a friend, the affidavit states. Rice claimed “he also threatened to kill her,” according to the affidavit.
At one point, Jones “jumped out of the vehicle” and Rice stopped the car, the affidavit states. As they argued, Jones “had a brick in his hand and threw it at her front passenger side window, shattering the window,” according to the affidavit.
Rice said she decided to leave Jones there and as she started to leave, Jones “jumped in front of the car and on the hood of the car as she was driving” at what she estimated was 10 mph, the affidavit states.
“Rice stated that she saw him sliding off of the vehicle but she did not stop and stated that was when she ran him over,” according to the affidavit.
Rice said “she was scared and did not stop or get out of the car because she thought that he would start fighting her if she got out to check on him,” the affidavit states. Rice thought she saw Jones “move a little” as she looked in her rear view mirror, according to the affidavit.
Rice did not call 911, court records state. She said she “was waiting for the police to call because she figured he would tell the police who did it,” the affidavit states.
