Aliik Holley told a packed courtroom Thursday that a piece of him was taken away the day his father, Willie Nathaniel Holley, was struck and killed by a car as he worked in a construction zone in September.
“I’m hurt, I’m hurt every day,” he said during a sentencing hearing for the driver of the car, Sebon C. Reese. “Every day, my thoughts are about my father.”
During an emotional 20-minute hearing in Scott County District Court, Judge Mark Smith sentenced Reese to up to 15 years in prison on charges of homicide by vehicle-reckless driving and eluding or attempting to elude while participating in a felony in the death of Holley.
The judge further ordered that the sentence will run back-to-back with a 15-year sentence Reese already is serving in three unrelated felony cases, for a total of 30 years.
The 19-year-old declined to make a statement at sentencing. His grandmother, Donna Reese, told reporters after the hearing that he was sorry for what happened.
She stressed that what happened was an accident.
“Sebon’s not a bad person,” she said. “It’s not like he just went and did something. They treated him like he just went out and just hit somebody. It’s not fair, and I don’t understand the sentence.”
About 10:10 a.m. Sept. 1, the Scott Emergency Communications Center received a report of a reckless driver traveling at a high rate of speed on northbound/eastbound U.S. 61, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Office.
A deputy in the area saw the vehicle, a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis, driving east at a high rate of speed. She tried to turn around and pull the vehicle over, according to the sheriff’s office.
The vehicle then entered the construction zone just east of Blue Grass and tried to turn off U.S. 61 at Coonhunters Road. The vehicle struck Holley, 62, who worked for Valley Construction, before coming to a stop off the pavement.
Blue Grass Fire Department and Medic ambulance were called to the scene of the crash. Holley was pronounced dead at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport.
Reese and his 1-year-old sister also were taken to the hospital for treatment.
He pleaded guilty to the charges in November.
Assistant Scott County Attorney Steven Berger on Thursday recommended that the sentences run back-to-back, pointing to the “heck of break” Reese was given in March when he received suspended prison sentences in three separate cases.
In one of those cases, Reese led police on a two-state high-speed chase in a vehicle that was stolen from Bettendorf. A judge revoked his probation in those cases and resentenced him to the original sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Berger also said Reese was driving in excess of 100 mph at the time of the crash that killed Holley.
Reese’s attorney, David Treimer, recommended that the sentence on the eluding charge run concurrent, or at the same time, as the 15-year sentence in his other cases and that those sentences run consecutive to the sentence on the homicide by vehicle charge, for a total of 25 years.
“We’re willing to accept that as being fair, punishable and something that will protect society in the future for some time,” Treimer said.
Holley’s brother, Andrew Steward, in his victim impact statement to the court, urged Reese to do something with his life, whether it be getting an education or learning a trade, while he is in prison.
“Be somebody productive,” he said. “Don’t come back and be an idiot and go back. Come out here and say, ‘I made a mistake, and I paid for it, and I’m going to be a productive person.’
Get news headlines sent daily to your inbox
“Please, do that for me, do that for my brother, because he would have helped you with it if he was here.”
In handing down the sentence, Smith noted that Reese now has 15 convictions on his record. That, as well as the circumstances surrounding the incident, justified consecutive sentences, he said.
“The tragedy of all this, of course, is that you’re 19 years old, and you have your whole life ahead of you,” Smith said. “You pretty much destroyed any opportunity you have to make a life during the time that you’re into your 20s or maybe even your 30s, depending on how you do in prison.”
Smith added that Reese was “extremely lucky” that his sister was not killed in the crash.
He ordered Reese to pay $150,000 in restitution. Per Reese’s plea agreement with prosecutors, an additional charge of child endangerment was dismissed.
According to his obituary, Holley worked for Laborers Local Union 309 for 22 years and had most recently worked on road projects for Valley Construction.
Prior to Thursday’s sentencing, members of the union stood outside the courthouse with “We want justice” signs and orange buttons with Holley’s picture on their jackets.
Aliik Holley said their support was something he holds very dear to him.
“Now, I know my father’s stretch, reach was a lot farther than I actually know, so it was good to see that his community really did care about him. He really cared about his community.”
He said that the sentence offered a little comfort but that he will never be whole again.
“I wasn’t upset so much with him personally,” he said. “I’ve made mistakes, and I just want to feel like I’m going in the right direction. Some people get it, some people don’t. Hopefully, this will get him to where he does get it and be productive and not out here causing havoc like he’s been doing.”
http://qctimes.com/news/local/crime...cle_adda996c-5a17-5438-9ca1-97da6557479a.html
