Husband of Danielle Dadani.
--------
Driver gets 32 years for killing man in wheelchair
By Steven Kreytak | Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 06:01 PM
Corey Jacob Spears, who while fleeing police in a stolen car last year struck and killed a man in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom today to murder and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Spears, 21, had been scheduled for a trial next week. He was sentenced by state District Judge Wilford Flowers under the terms of a deal with prosecutors.
"It was a fair plea agreement," said prosecutor Allison Wetzel. "Both sides had to give up a little bit."
Spears was convicted in the death of Rickey Lee Townsend, 47, who was struck while waiting at a bus stop along the Interstate 35 frontage road near East 38 ½ street.
Townsend, who had both legs amputated after he was shot in the spine in 1985, had battled depression and alcoholism for years, said his wife, Danielle Dadani.
Dadani, who met Townsend while they were both homeless in Houston seven years before his death, said in an interview last year that before the crash she had kicked Townsend out of a trailer home they had shared near Del Valle because he had been drinking.
Dadani said that Townsend had more than once tried to kill himself but she maintained that Spears needed to be punished for his reckless actions that day.
Dadani said in a phone interview today that she thought the punishment was fair. She said she had been stressed about the scheduled trial and reliving the hardships of her life with Townsend.
"I think (Spears) has got a lot of time to think about the ramifications of what he did," she said. "I wish nothing but the best for him. This is going to be a very tough learning experience."
According to a police affidavit, Spears and Vaughn Robichaux robbed a man at a Southeast Austin apartment complex on Sept. 18, 2009, taking his 2002 Buick LeSabre and $650.
Patrol officers spotted Spears later that morning driving the Buick near Airport Boulevard and I-35 and, after securing backup, tried to pull the car over on East 43rd Street, the affidavit said.
With the lights and sirens of the police cars on, Spears accelerated, eventually crashing into Townsend, the affidavit said. Townsend's wheelchair broke into pieces and he crashed onto the sidewalk.
He died 17 days later of his injuries, Dadani said.
Spears was charged with felony murder, used when someone causes another's death while committing a felony and an act clearly dangerous to human life. In his case, the felony was evading arrest in a vehicle and the dangerous act was speeding while ignoring traffic signs.
An aggravated robbery case against Robichaux is pending.
Dadani said that Townsend had been on his way to visit her at a convenience store downtown where she worked. After the crash, she said she ended up living in the Salvation Army shelter because she could not pay the rent on the trailer.
She still works at the convenience store and said she recently got her own apartment.
- Austin American Statesman
--------
Driver gets 32 years for killing man in wheelchair
By Steven Kreytak | Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 06:01 PM
Corey Jacob Spears, who while fleeing police in a stolen car last year struck and killed a man in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom today to murder and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Spears, 21, had been scheduled for a trial next week. He was sentenced by state District Judge Wilford Flowers under the terms of a deal with prosecutors.
"It was a fair plea agreement," said prosecutor Allison Wetzel. "Both sides had to give up a little bit."
Spears was convicted in the death of Rickey Lee Townsend, 47, who was struck while waiting at a bus stop along the Interstate 35 frontage road near East 38 ½ street.
Townsend, who had both legs amputated after he was shot in the spine in 1985, had battled depression and alcoholism for years, said his wife, Danielle Dadani.
Dadani, who met Townsend while they were both homeless in Houston seven years before his death, said in an interview last year that before the crash she had kicked Townsend out of a trailer home they had shared near Del Valle because he had been drinking.
Dadani said that Townsend had more than once tried to kill himself but she maintained that Spears needed to be punished for his reckless actions that day.
Dadani said in a phone interview today that she thought the punishment was fair. She said she had been stressed about the scheduled trial and reliving the hardships of her life with Townsend.
"I think (Spears) has got a lot of time to think about the ramifications of what he did," she said. "I wish nothing but the best for him. This is going to be a very tough learning experience."
According to a police affidavit, Spears and Vaughn Robichaux robbed a man at a Southeast Austin apartment complex on Sept. 18, 2009, taking his 2002 Buick LeSabre and $650.
Patrol officers spotted Spears later that morning driving the Buick near Airport Boulevard and I-35 and, after securing backup, tried to pull the car over on East 43rd Street, the affidavit said.
With the lights and sirens of the police cars on, Spears accelerated, eventually crashing into Townsend, the affidavit said. Townsend's wheelchair broke into pieces and he crashed onto the sidewalk.
He died 17 days later of his injuries, Dadani said.
Spears was charged with felony murder, used when someone causes another's death while committing a felony and an act clearly dangerous to human life. In his case, the felony was evading arrest in a vehicle and the dangerous act was speeding while ignoring traffic signs.
An aggravated robbery case against Robichaux is pending.
Dadani said that Townsend had been on his way to visit her at a convenience store downtown where she worked. After the crash, she said she ended up living in the Salvation Army shelter because she could not pay the rent on the trailer.
She still works at the convenience store and said she recently got her own apartment.
- Austin American Statesman
Husband of Danielle Dadani.
--------
Driver gets 32 years for killing man in wheelchair
By Steven Kreytak | Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 06:01 PM
Corey Jacob Spears, who while fleeing police in a stolen car last year struck and killed a man in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom today to murder and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Spears, 21, had been scheduled for a trial next week. He was sentenced by state District Judge Wilford Flowers under the terms of a deal with prosecutors.
"It was a fair plea agreement," said prosecutor Allison Wetzel. "Both sides had to give up a little bit."
Spears was convicted in the death of Rickey Lee Townsend, 47, who was struck while waiting at a bus stop along the Interstate 35 frontage road near East 38 ½ street.
Townsend, who had both legs amputated after he was shot in the spine in 1985, had battled depression and alcoholism for years, said his wife, Danielle Dadani.
Dadani, who met Townsend while they were both homeless in Houston seven years before his death, said in an interview last year that before the crash she had kicked Townsend out of a trailer home they had shared near Del Valle because he had been drinking.
Dadani said that Townsend had more than once tried to kill himself but she maintained that Spears needed to be punished for his reckless actions that day.
Dadani said in a phone interview today that she thought the punishment was fair. She said she had been stressed about the scheduled trial and reliving the hardships of her life with Townsend.
"I think (Spears) has got a lot of time to think about the ramifications of what he did," she said. "I wish nothing but the best for him. This is going to be a very tough learning experience."
According to a police affidavit, Spears and Vaughn Robichaux robbed a man at a Southeast Austin apartment complex on Sept. 18, 2009, taking his 2002 Buick LeSabre and $650.
Patrol officers spotted Spears later that morning driving the Buick near Airport Boulevard and I-35 and, after securing backup, tried to pull the car over on East 43rd Street, the affidavit said.
With the lights and sirens of the police cars on, Spears accelerated, eventually crashing into Townsend, the affidavit said. Townsend's wheelchair broke into pieces and he crashed onto the sidewalk.
He died 17 days later of his injuries, Dadani said.
Spears was charged with felony murder, used when someone causes another's death while committing a felony and an act clearly dangerous to human life. In his case, the felony was evading arrest in a vehicle and the dangerous act was speeding while ignoring traffic signs.
An aggravated robbery case against Robichaux is pending.
Dadani said that Townsend had been on his way to visit her at a convenience store downtown where she worked. After the crash, she said she ended up living in the Salvation Army shelter because she could not pay the rent on the trailer.
She still works at the convenience store and said she recently got her own apartment.
- Austin American Statesman
--------
Driver gets 32 years for killing man in wheelchair
By Steven Kreytak | Wednesday, October 13, 2010, 06:01 PM
Corey Jacob Spears, who while fleeing police in a stolen car last year struck and killed a man in a wheelchair, pleaded guilty in a Travis County courtroom today to murder and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Spears, 21, had been scheduled for a trial next week. He was sentenced by state District Judge Wilford Flowers under the terms of a deal with prosecutors.
"It was a fair plea agreement," said prosecutor Allison Wetzel. "Both sides had to give up a little bit."
Spears was convicted in the death of Rickey Lee Townsend, 47, who was struck while waiting at a bus stop along the Interstate 35 frontage road near East 38 ½ street.
Townsend, who had both legs amputated after he was shot in the spine in 1985, had battled depression and alcoholism for years, said his wife, Danielle Dadani.
Dadani, who met Townsend while they were both homeless in Houston seven years before his death, said in an interview last year that before the crash she had kicked Townsend out of a trailer home they had shared near Del Valle because he had been drinking.
Dadani said that Townsend had more than once tried to kill himself but she maintained that Spears needed to be punished for his reckless actions that day.
Dadani said in a phone interview today that she thought the punishment was fair. She said she had been stressed about the scheduled trial and reliving the hardships of her life with Townsend.
"I think (Spears) has got a lot of time to think about the ramifications of what he did," she said. "I wish nothing but the best for him. This is going to be a very tough learning experience."
According to a police affidavit, Spears and Vaughn Robichaux robbed a man at a Southeast Austin apartment complex on Sept. 18, 2009, taking his 2002 Buick LeSabre and $650.
Patrol officers spotted Spears later that morning driving the Buick near Airport Boulevard and I-35 and, after securing backup, tried to pull the car over on East 43rd Street, the affidavit said.
With the lights and sirens of the police cars on, Spears accelerated, eventually crashing into Townsend, the affidavit said. Townsend's wheelchair broke into pieces and he crashed onto the sidewalk.
He died 17 days later of his injuries, Dadani said.
Spears was charged with felony murder, used when someone causes another's death while committing a felony and an act clearly dangerous to human life. In his case, the felony was evading arrest in a vehicle and the dangerous act was speeding while ignoring traffic signs.
An aggravated robbery case against Robichaux is pending.
Dadani said that Townsend had been on his way to visit her at a convenience store downtown where she worked. After the crash, she said she ended up living in the Salvation Army shelter because she could not pay the rent on the trailer.
She still works at the convenience store and said she recently got her own apartment.
- Austin American Statesman
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
