ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Anchorage teen is facing a three-year sentence instead of the decade possible in exchange for pleading guilty to driving under the influence last summer and killing popular local cyclist Jeff Dusenbury.
The defense and prosecutors said in court that they agreed to a possible three-year sentence for 17-year-old Alexandra Ellis, with two years suspended, the Alaska Dispatch News reports (https://bit.ly/1FN7X1D).
The court will sentence Ellis in August for backing over Dusenbury, a husband and father of one, on July 19. Officers found Ellis at her home less than half a mile away with blood alcohol content above the legal limit.
Prosecutors dropped the charge of leaving the scene of an accident in exchange for Ellis’s plea.
Dusenbury’s family and friends were in court Monday, and are planning a memorial ride for this summer.
His wife, Melissa Holder, said after Ellis entered her plea that “it’s not going to bring him back.” Ellis turns 18 next week, and Holder said she hopes the teen leads a productive life and shares her experience with other young drivers.
“A car is a weapon,” she said. “She pleaded guilty today to killing someone.”
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Information from: Alaska Dispatch News, https://www.adn.com
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