The Lake Wylie man featured in Facebook photos with alcohol while awaiting a trial related to a fatal drunken driving accident will serve two years in prison.
Jason Isbell, 21, pleaded guilty Monday to felony driving under the influence resulting in death, and reckless homicide in connection with the deadly crash after a Halloween party on Nov. 1, 2008. Police said his blood-alcohol level was 0.176 - more than double the legal limit.
Because evidence of his drinking could have been dismissed, 16th Circuit deputy solicitor Willy Thompson said the state offered a 10-year sentence recommendation.
Circuit Court Judge John Hayes sentenced Isbell to 10 years in prison, suspended after he completes two year behind bars, Thompson said.
Isbell also faces three years of probation, during which time he won't be allowed to be any place where the primary focus is alcohol, Thompson said. Isbell's driver's license is also suspended.
After the 2008 fatal crash on Ridge Road, family of victim Travis James Pettus, 20, of Clover, scoured Facebook for pictures of him.
His parents, David and Evelyn Pettus, said they were "heartbroken" by what they found - pictures of Isbell out of state on spring break with alcohol.
Pettus' parents said when they saw the photos, they feared Isbell would drive drunk again.
In a bond hearing last month, a judge modified Isbell's bond to require that he not drink and that he submit to random alcohol tests. Isbell was charged in the crash last year after being released from the hospital from injuries he suffered in the crash.
The crash happened as Isbell drove east in a 1997 Jeep Cherokee along Ridge Road near Clover. The SUV ran off the right side of the road, struck some trees and overturned, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Travis Pettus was a passenger in that vehicle. David Pettus said his son had just graduated from a technical college with a degree in automotive work and loved working on cars.
Isbell could have faced 25 years in prison, Thompson said. Generally in crashes where the victim is a passenger, he said, the defendants are sentenced to considerably less than the maximum.
Thompson said neither he nor the victim's family was completely satisfied with the sentence, but they were faced with the possibility that any evidence of Isbell's drinking could be dismissed.
David Pettus said it hurts that Isbell has never apologized to the victim's family, not even in court Monday.
"I told the the solicitor I didnt like it. Its not right he only got two years. I dont think its right," the victim's father said. ] He (Isbell) tried to lie and say there was a deer. It was just drunk driving and speed. Thats all it was.
"Were at peace with it. Theres nothing we can do about it."
He said three issues could have led to the blood-alcohol evidence being excluded:
A problem with how Isbell's blood was drawn and tested
There was no video of the crash scene
Issues with implied consent and whether Isbell's rights were infringed upon while he was unconscious.
