Posted 9:22 pm Saturday, November 10, 2012
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Palestine man receives 20-year sentence for manslaughter
Staff Reports
Anderson County District Judge Pam Foster Fletcher sentenced Larry Wayne Adams, 52, of Palestine to 20 years in prison on a charge of manslaughter for the death of Keith Robert Gardner as a result of a pickup truck and motorcycle wreck on June 9, 2011, according to information released Friday by the district attorney’s office.
Anderson County District Judge Pam Foster Fletcher sentenced Larry Wayne Adams, 52, of Palestine to 20 years in prison on a charge of manslaughter for the death of Keith Robert Gardner as a result of a pickup truck and motorcycle wreck on June 9, 2011, according to information released Friday by the district attorney’s office.
Judge Fletcher pronounced the maximum possible sentence on Nov. 2 after hearing emotional testimony from the victim’s family and a plea for leniency from supporters of the defendant, District Attorney Doug Lowe said.
An Anderson County jury returned a guilty verdict on Aug. 9 to the manslaughter charge, which is a second-degree felony.
Because the jury found Adams used his truck as a deadly weapon in the commission of the offense, he will have to serve at least 10 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to information from the district attorney.
Because the jury found Adams used his truck as a deadly weapon in the commission of the offense, he will have to serve at least 10 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to information from the district attorney.
Evidence in the trial showed that at about 9 p.m. June 9 Gardner was traveling westbound on Court Drive in Palestine on a motorcycle when he attempted to turn left onto Bristol Street. Adams, who was also westbound in a pickup, passed a vehicle following Gardner’s motorcycle, continued in the eastbound lane and crashed into the motorcycle, the information from the district attorney’s office stated.
Police testified Adams was driving in excess of 64 miles per hour before impacting the motorcycle although the speed limit was 50 miles per hour. Adam’s truck drug the motorcycle and Gardner’s body into the bar ditch on the north side of Court Drive, police said.
Police testified Adams was driving in excess of 64 miles per hour before impacting the motorcycle although the speed limit was 50 miles per hour. Adam’s truck drug the motorcycle and Gardner’s body into the bar ditch on the north side of Court Drive, police said.
