Woman sentenced in connection to fatal hit-and-run that happened at Tacoma park
A woman was sentenced Friday in connection to a fatal hit-and-run that happened at a Tacoma park.
Last year jurors acquitted Mikaela Denise Adair of second-degree murder for the death of 36-year-old Eric Johnson. They convicted her of failing to remain at the scene of a fatal accident, and hung on a charge of vehicular homicide that prosecutors later dismissed.
Superior Court Judge Timothy Ashcraft gave the 27-year-old a low-end sentence of three years, five months in prison.
Charging papers said someone had their 21st birthday party at Kandle Park on Aug. 3, 2019, and one of the guests was a man who was in a custody dispute with the mother of his child. Johnson was with the group. The father called 911 to report the mother was violating a restraining order, charging papers said, when she and friends, including Adair, showed up.
At some point Adair’s vehicle struck Johnson, and someone grabbed a gun that was on the ground near Johnson and fired at the car multiple times as it drove toward them and left the parking lot, charging papers said. No one inside was shot.
Johnson suffered a skull fracture and was taken off life support June 18, 2020.
Adair argued that she acted in self-defense.
Defense attorney Stephen G. Johnson wrote in a sentencing brief that Johnson had approached Adair’s vehicle, pointed a gun at her, and asked, “are you willing to die for your friend?”
The brief went on to say that: “Described as having a ‘deer in the headlights look in her eyes,’ the Defendant ducked her head behind her steering wheel, put her car in drive, and stepped on the accelerator pedal.”
Deputy prosecutor Patrick Cooper wrote the court prior to sentencing: “There were multiple versions of the event, and significant differences between what the defendant and her friends testified to at trial as opposed to family, friends and citizens who testified at trial.”
His court filing went on to say: “This case involved a tragic death which could have been avoided if the defendant and her friends would have left the park and not come back. Instead, the confrontation continued, and Mr. Johnson was eventually run over by the defendant, suffering life ending injuries. The Failure to Remain at an Accident Resulting in Death charge penalizes the failure to make proper notifications if one is involved in an accident. It does not involve any fault for the accident.”
Johnson’s family told the court at sentencing that he has children, and that his family continues to mourn. The family said he wouldn’t have hurt anyone, that his character was not accurately portrayed, and that he’ll never have the chance to tell his side of what happened.
When it was Adair’s turn to speak, she apologized and told the court she’d thought about what happened every day since.
“I just pray that this is something that we can all learn from and move forward,” she said.
The state asked for a mid-range sentence of three years, 11 months. The defense asked that Adair be sentenced to the several days she already served in jail.
Ashcraft said he had given the defense memorandum a lot of thought, but declined to sentence Adair that far below the standard range.
“It’s hard for me to take a request like that seriously,” he said.
