COMANCHE CO., Okla_ A Kansas man will spend the next ten years behind bars for
a drunken driving incident that killed a Sterling
man back in 2011.
Colby Hamlin
accepted a blind plea in a Comanche
County courtroom this
afternoon. He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter last September in the
death of 76-year-old James Bragg. Prosecutors said Hamlin was drunk behind the
wheel of a pickup that crashed into Bragg, as he sat outside his favorite
restaurant in Sterling.
Hamlin sat
anxiously in the courtroom with his grandmother at his side, as he waited to
hear his punishment for killing 76-year-old James Bragg almost two years ago. Hamlin
was convicted on two charges: first-degree manslaughter and escape from arrest.
Less than fifteen minutes later, a Comanche
County judge told Hamlin
that he would spend the next ten years behind bars.
Hamlin's
attorney Stephen Fabian said his client decided to accept a blind plea, which
allows a judge to decide the punishment, because going to trial was too risky.
"He may
have been sentenced to four years to life," Fabian said. "So, there's a risk. If
he were to be sentenced to say 20 or 25 years in jail, in 18 ½, years he's
going to be almost 50 years old. There's not much chance to recover from that.
They decided that risk was not worth it."
He said this
particular case, although senseless, was not a typical drunk-driving
manslaughter situation.
"This was
a rather unique situation," Fabian said. "This wasn't about being out driving
down the road drunk and swerving all over the place. It was a matter of the
defendant parking, waiting for the store to open, and the car idling into this
individual who was sitting there."
After
sentencing, the judge allowed Hamlin a few minutes to say goodbye to his family.
There were no members of Bragg's family in the courtroom, but he was loved by
an entire town.
Fabian said his
client has not reached out to the victim's family yet. That's something he
advises clients to wait on, at least until the case is finished.
"I advise
him not to do that," Fabian said, "At least until we get the case tried. Sometimes
people may say something that could be inferred as an admission. We can't afford
to let those kinds of things happen. No matter how often we want to say, "God, I
am sorry." We regret all the things that happened. We try to keep that down
until after the case is over. Now, there may be something done at this point,
now that the case is finally disposed of."
Again, Hamlin
has been sentenced to ten years in prison with credit for time already served. He
will be eligible for parole in 8 1/2 years.
The Comanche County District Attorney's office had recommended 20 years
in prison, but say they respect the judge's decision.
