Topekan Amber Peery may or may not go to prison after being convicted Thursday of felonies linked to the highway crash deaths of three Girl Scouts.
Jurors found Peery, 34, guilty of three felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, two felony counts of aggravated battery and one count each of failure to maintain a single lane and making a U-turn on an interstate highway.
Two uniformed Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputies were among the 21 people who watched from the gallery as Thursday’s verdict was announced. A bond Peery had posted in the case last year was then revoked.
Deputies took Peery in handcuffs from the Shawnee County Courthouse to the Shawnee County Jail, where she was booked in at 6:10 p.m. Thursday. Jail records showed she was being held without bond Friday afternoon.
Shawnee County District Judge Jessica Heinen scheduled Peery’s sentencing for Oct. 3.
What rules are considered in determining Amber Peery’s sentence?
District judges imposing sentences in Kansas are guided by the Kansas sentencing grid, which lays out presumptive terms in months for crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993.
Based on the severity of the crime and the defendant’s prior criminal history, the grid sets minimum, standard and maximum sentencing ranges for drug and nondrug crimes.
Court records say Peery’s involuntary manslaughter convictions and one of her two aggravated battery convictions are Level 5 felonies.
Peery’s other aggravated battery conviction — involving a victim who suffered less serious injuries than were incurred by the victim of her first aggravated battery conviction — is a Level 8 felony.
For most crimes, the sentencing grid makes it clear whether probation or prison is recommended.
But for people with no felony convictions, which appears to be the case with Peery, penalties for all Level 5 felonies fall within a “border box,” says a copy of the grid posted on the website of the Kansas Sentencing Commission.
That means a judge, without going outside the guidelines, may either sentence that person to prison or place her on probation.
Recommended prison or probation sentences vary from 31 to 38 months for people with no prior felony convictions who are convicted of Level 5 felonies, the sentencing grid shows.
Probation is recommended for all defendants convicted of Level 8 felonies except for those who have two or more prior felony convictions, it says.
What other sentencing laws might affect Peery’s case?
Peery was convicted Thursday of four different Level 5 felonies.
Kansas law gives judges the option in cases involving multiple convictions to impose sentences that will run either consecutively or at the same time.
Judges may also depart from the guidelines entirely by imposing sentences that are more or less severe than what the guidelines recommend.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Amber Peery convicted in 3 Topeka Girl Scout deaths. What’s next?
Source Agencies
