Judge orders active time
By Sherry Matthews, The Sampson Independent, Clinton, N.C. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Emotions were etched across their faces as the sentence was handed down, the last leg, the couple said, in a long, arduous journey that began when
Thornton, court records show, was high on cocaine at the time of the accident.
She entered a guilty plea Monday in
Parsons sentenced her to no less than 10 months and no more than 21 months of active prison time in the
She is also required to pay just over
Clad in a pink jail jumpsuit, Thornton stood to face Parsons during the sentencing, offering an apology for the pain she had caused.
"I'm sorry. I won't ever do that again ... I've learned my lesson and I'm ready to get the help I need."
A stern Parsons said he hoped she had learned a lesson and pointed to her plea arrangement as an opportunity to turn her life around and make wise choices.
"You are being given an opportunity to make something of your life. It will mean leaving the drugs alone. If you choose not to, things will be difficult," the judge warned.
And he drove home the point in his order, requiring the 28-year-old to undergo mandatory drug testing, to meet with her probation officer within 72 hours of her release, to be gainfully employed six hours a day within 45 days of her release (or carrying out community service if a job cannot be found) and myriad other requirements, many which follow probationary guidelines.
"If you test positive for any illegal controlled substance, you'll be arrested and placed under a
Pointing to the hardship Thornton's choices had caused a "good, outstanding family," Parsons said: "I hope you realize the emotional turmoil you have caused some very nice people, not to mention the physical pain
The Smiths
"It's been a very difficult time,"
Though not as seriously injured, the Smiths' 12-year-old, his father said, had emotional scars as well. Though they are now slowly but surely fading away, nearly a year after the wreck, those scars, too, had made an impact on the young boy's life, particularly his academics. Once an academically gifted student,
"He's getting there, and he will be an AG student again, but this (the accident) has taken a toll."
Despite the emotional, physical and financial hardships the wreck caused for the Smith family, they do not harbor hard feelings toward Thornton.
In court Monday,
Smith, who at first believed the wreck to be a fiery crash, said it was painful to watch his wife struggle the way she has since the accident, and to see the changes it brought to his energetic son.
"But I hold no animosity for something that is out of my control," he stressed. "I don't hold a grudge and neither does my family. We want her to be OK."
Smith did say he was shocked and upset that neither Thornton nor any member of her family had reached out to them after the accident, "even to check to see how they were doing."
Shaking his head,
He also said that Thornton was clearly a danger to herself and to others and that he hoped she would get herself straightened out and not get back on the road until she had done so. "I certainly hope she gets the help she needs and that there is never a repeat occurrence like what happened to my family."
Shaking his head, Parsons said, "I intend to do everything legally in my power to make sure that is the case."
Thornton
In relaying the facts of the case during court Monday, assistant District Attorney
Thornton left the scene of the accident before law enforcement arrived, but not before climbing across her wrecked vehicle to first search for her pocketbook and a second time to retrieve her cigarettes.
At one point, Thigpen said, she was spotted climbing onto the hood of the Civic before sliding to the other side, climbing an embankment and fleeing into a wooded area.
A day later, on
Thigpen said while at SRMC, Thornton was diagnosed with cocaine abuse.
Thornton told authorities, Thigpen said, that she woke up in the woods, noticed the lacerations and bruises and sought help. "She had no memory of what happened from
Eventually Thornton was charged in connection with the accident, but that was not her last run-in with law enforcement officers.
A few months later, on
When she was finally stopped, Thornton refused to allow officers to take her into custody. She was eventually tased.
In that incident, court records show, Thornton admitted to having used marijuana before getting behind the wheel of the vehicle. She further told troopers, Thigpen said, that she'd been "having a bad day," rattling off a series of personal problems that had caused her actions.
On Monday, Thornton listened to the account of her behavior, sitting quietly beside her attorney
(Editor
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