Woman gets up to 24 years in double fatal DUI crash

By Dave Toplikar

Published Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 12:35 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | 2:16 p.m.

A 19-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and causing a crash in February that killed two people was sentenced Tuesday to six to 24 years in prison.

Wearing a jail jumpsuit and in shackles as she stood in a Clark County courtroom, Anita Mann turned to the victims' family members and tearfully apologized and asked for forgiveness "for the pain and suffering I caused your mom and each and every one of you. I pray for each of you guys every day."

Mann was charged in connection with the Feb. 16 crash on Horizon Ridge Parkway that killed Karen Hicks and Louis Madden, both 65, of Henderson. Police said Mann's blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was .26, which would have been more than three times the legal limit for a drinker of legal age.

At the time she was arrested, Mann was a private first class in the Nevada National Guard. She graduated from Foothill High School in 2008.

In April, Mann waived her right to a preliminary hearing and trial and pleaded guilty to the charges.

After turning and speaking to the victims' families in the courtroom Tuesday, Mann also turned to her own parents and told them she was sorry she had let them down. She then turned back to face District Court Judge Valorie J. Vega.

"Your honor, I know I'm going to prison. And I know I deserve to because what I did was bad. There was no need to take it to trial because I take full responsibility. There was no need to cause any more pain and suffering than I already did," Mann said, crying.

"I'm already trying to make better the situation by educating people not to drink and drive," Mann said, referring to being interviewed for a drunk driving story on a local television station.

"Your honor, I'm not a bad person, I just made a very bad mistake," Mann said. "... This is my first time I've been in trouble. And it will be my last time in trouble. I can promise you that. And also that I will never, ever drink again. So, I ask you, your honor, for forgiveness and just to do what is fair."

Vega sentenced Mann to three to 12 years each on two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol. The sentences will run consecutively.

"There are a lot of tears in this room," Vega said before announcing the sentence. "This is neither a maximum case nor a minimum case. Two lives were tragically taken and there must be consequences."

Before the sentencing, several family members of the victims took the witness stand and spoke how much their lives had changed with the loss of their relatives. They also submitted letters to the judge.

Veronica Luby, who lost her mother, Karen Hicks, in the crash, had asked the judge to hand down the maximum sentence possible for Mann.

"After hearing everything in there, I guess I feel that it was a fair sentence," Luby said later, outside the courtroom. "I have a daughter close to her age."

Tara Stevenson, Louis Madden's daughter, said in her statement to the judge that Mann made unwise choices and there needed to be consequences.

"I'm OK with the sentence," Stevenson said later outside the courtroom.

"Even though our family and the Lubys are grieving, I could see how difficult it was for her (Anita Mann's) family, as well," Stevenson said. "I have a daughter. And I thought if that was my daughter, how difficult it would be. I do feel sorrow for her. She's going to be in jail for a while and I hope that she can take this tragedy and return and do something good with it and help others see how tragic drinking and driving can be."

Brian Kochevar, Clark County's chief deputy district attorney, talked to family members outside the courtroom and explained the sentences. He told them the sentence was fair, but it was never going to provide them with total solace they were looking for -- it was a grieving process that would happen over time. Kochevar encouraged family members who had not done so to get counseling and to contact his office if they needed help finding counselors.

Kochevar said he thought it was fair that Mann would have to serve a minimum sentence of six years and a maximum sentence of 24 years.

"As the judge indicated, it's not a maximum case, it's not a minimum case," Kochevar said. "You had a young woman who made a tragic decision that took the lives of two wonderful people. There has to be consequences. It's not somebody who's been convicted multiple times in the past of driving drunk. Unfortunately, on this occasion when she chose to drive drunk, she took the lives of two innocent victims."