A judge has
sentenced a Tucson woman to nearly the maximum prison term
for negligent homicide after hearing a recorded jail
conversation in which she made light of
the cyclist she killed while driving drunk.
Melissa
Arrington, 27, was convicted two months ago of negligent
homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI in
connection with the December 2006 death of Paul
L'Ecuyer. She could have gotten as few as four years behind
bars, but superior court judge Michael Cruikshank sentenced
her Tuesday to 10 1/2 years, one year shy of the
maximum.
Cruikshank said
he found a telephone conversation between Arrington and
an unknown male friend, a week after L'Ecuyer was killed, to
be ''breathtaking in its inhumanity.''
During the
conversation, the man told Arrington that an acquaintance
believed she should get a medal and a parade because she had
''taken out'' a ''tree hugger, a bicyclist, a
Frenchman, and a gay guy all in one shot.''
Arrington
laughed. When the man said he knew it was a terrible thing
to say, she responded, ''No, it's not.''
Assistant public
defender Michael Rosenbluth told the judge his client
has never been ''cold, callous, or flippant'' about
L'Ecuyer's death and has always felt remorseful.
Arrington said
words couldn't express how she feels and that once she's
out of prison, she hopes to share her story with Mothers
Against Drunk Driving.
L'Ecuyer, 45, was
riding his bike the night of December 1, 2006, when
Arrington swerved off the road, hit him, and then continued
for 800 feet before stopping, according to deputy Pima
County attorney Jonathan Mosher.
Arrington's
blood-alcohol content was .156%, nearly double Arizona's
.08% legal limit. She had been driving on a suspended
license for a prior DUI. (AP)
